Rosaline
by Moon Dolphin
Summary: Through largely unconventional means, the Crystal Gems add a new member to their team. She was the result of a group effort as opposed to an injector, two parents or any other simple method. However, a rebel fraction of pearls are just as happy about her birth... for very different reasons
1. Pearl Tries Something New

**Part 1: The Genesis**

Steven ran down the dirt path, ready to exhaust his energy before the day even started. Each step made a dusty noise and the lack of any noticeable bumps in the dirt told him that many people had walked, ran, skipped or stepped quietly on that same path.

"C'mon, you guys!" he said, "It's the Ocean Festival!"

It was one of those days that Beach City planned to make up for the fact that there were simply no holidays of interest in August. But at the same time, it was worth having a day to celebrate that massive body of water that blanketed the horizon. After all, humans relied on it for travel, trade, food, recreation and beauty. Although he wasn't on the sand at that very moment, he wasn't far from it and he could still smell the salt in the air as a reminder that, indeed, no matter how many times the ocean shaped itself from millions of years of continental drift, it wasn't going to go anywhere (unless an angry gem were to hold it hostage, that is).

"Steven, the festival will run all day," shouted Pearl from afar, "We don't have to rush!" She wore a lovely pear-green dress over her usual ballerina outfit along with a floppy sunhat to protect her pale skin. Garnet wore the two-piece bathing suit that she wore when The Pizzas were invited over for that crazy cookout. Amethyst decided to repurpose the shower curtain and make a dress out of it. Steven didn't know whether she got it from his bathroom or one of the many trash heaps in her room. However, Steven didn't care to go back and check because they were already on the other side of Beach City.

Once they walked through the entrance arch, they saw so much going on: There were exhibits on ocean processes, sea creature petting zoos, midway games where the prizes were plush dolphins and all sorts of rides and entertainment. All around him, everyone was busy with something, whether it was ordering food or paying attention to a lecture or strapping in and receiving the stomach-turning adrenaline rush that was the payoff of waiting for forty minutes in line. Much like any event with all sorts of fun attractions, Steven didn't know which one to flock to first.

"I wanna go to all of them at once!" he said while jumping up and down.

"With enough magical practice, I'll bet you can manage that," said Garnet, "But for now, let's pick one."

"Hmm…" he said. Since his mind couldn't decide what to do first, he went with his gut… and his gut told him what any gut would tell somebody before noon, namely that it needed fuel.

"Can we get something to eat?" he asked.

"Always my favorite activity!" said Amethyst, "Besides cheating at Ski-Ball… _which_ I intend on doing afterward."

Pearl sighed.

"All right," she said, "Garnet and I will patiently wait as you take in your necessary nourishment."

Steven never liked to see anyone left out, especially Pearl, who had always struggled with being self-conscious. "It's a special occasion, Pearl. What do you say you try eating some food?"

Pearl gasped and put her fingers over her lips like a woman on a poster of a 1950's horror film. "No! Are you crazy? Eating isn't what gems do! It's what organic organisms do!"

"Pearl, what did we say about belittling others for being organic organisms?" asked Garnet.

"No! I'm not belittling him, Garnet. I'm saying that gems are different and don't need to eat. Therefore, there is no need to pressure a gem to eat."

"Pearl, I'm not pressuring you to do anything! I just suggested that you try some food since fair food is delicious!"

"Besides, if anyone's gonna pressure you to eat something, it would be me," said Amethyst. "In any case… C'mooooooooon, Pearl. Don't you want to step out of your comfort zone and experience the pleasure of tasting food… digesting food… excreting food…" Amethyst then started looking dazed and relaxed by her words.

Steven, feeling suddenly unsettled, backed off a bit. To him, the concept of the body eating and processing food was nothing out of the ordinary but to Amethyst, it was an amazing experience that the others of her kind were missing out on.

"No matter how pleasurable it is, it still sounds disgusting," said Pearl.

"Suit yourself," said Amethyst, "But you're still coming with us."

Pearl sighed. "All right."

The four of them walked past the festival-goers and they eventually decided to stop at Land Lubber's Seafood. The place specialized in the fried variety and the man behind the counter looked sweaty and active, although Steven couldn't tell whether the sweat was from the activity or the thick wall of heat coming off the fryers. Steven could hear the crackling of the grease and the smell of the cooking made his mouth water in preparation for the salty, fatty treat that he was about to get.

Steven saw a chalk board propped up on the counter. In powder blue chalk, there was written, "Today's oysters come from Uncle Dizzy's Oyster Farm." Beach City always prided itself on local food during the seasons when it was available. This provider seemed familiar and Steven couldn't put his finger on why… until he eventually did.

"Say, Garnet," said Steven, "Isn't Uncle Dizzy's Oyster Farm that place that's located not too far from the abandoned kindergarten?"

"Oh yeah!" said Amethyst, "He's that guy who's always saying…" In a sudden burst of light, she then transformed into a purple, gem-chested version of the elderly bumpkin who they remember encountering on occasion. She waved her arm in the air angrily. "Git off mah farm yeh kids!"

Steven laughed at Amethyst's spot-on impression, although he shouldn't have been surprised at how spot-on she was.

Garnet couldn't help but snicker.

"It's funny because we're far from being kids," she said, "Or at least Pearl and I are."

Amethyst turned back into her default form, not seeming to mind that Garnet called her immature. She was more focused on her artificial hunger at that moment.

Steven thought about Uncle Dizzy. His dad told him that the nickname "Dizzy" was because he suffered from a rather severe case of vertigo and the childhood nickname stuck. However, the "uncle" part puzzled him. It suggested that everyone in the world was his niece or nephew. Surely, there were two people who called him son, four people who called him grandson, probably a woman who called him husband. But did he have any real nieces or nephews that called him Uncle? Anyone calling him cousin or brother… or dad?

The aproned man came up to the counter looking exhausted but happy to be in such a festive environment.

"What can I get you guys today?" he asked in a regional accent.

"I'll take the fried oyster plate!" said Amethyst, "With extra fries! And a cola!"

"And I'll also take the fried oyster plate with a cola," said Steven.

"And I'll just have an iced tea," said Pearl.

"That'll be thirty dollars," said the man.

Pearl paid him and they waited for their fare, although she didn't have to wait long for hers since all he had to do was reach into the cooler. As Pearl stood there, she shifted her eyes lazily as she pressed open the dripping wet can of iced tea. Steven watched as she drank the beverage; her thin throat had lumps sliding down it rhythmically as she gulped. When she took the can away from her lips, she sighed.

"That hit the spot," she said.

The man in the apron served up Steven and Amethyst's food. Each plate had crispy, golden brown clams piled atop a mound of yellow fries. These food items glistened with grease, which soaked through their respective plates. A lemon wedge accompanied them as a tangy compliment to the salty dish, along with a modest plastic cup of tartar sauce.

In another burst of light, Amethyst shape-shifted into a purple paper-shredder and downed her entire plate while making a prolonged, buzzing crunch. She managed to spray some tartar sauce onto Pearl's face, who took it just about as well as one would expect. She grabbed a napkin and rubbed her cheek until it was chafed.

"Amethyst, why can't you eat politely like Steven?" she asked. Although she wasn't saying it outright, she was admitting that the man that brought her into a jealous fit in her younger years did a pretty good job at raising his kid.

"There's nothing wrong with experimenting while eating, Pearl," said Amethyst after she changed back, "I call it experim-eating."

"Well I like it!" said Steven, "It's very creative!" He blew on one of his fried clams and popped it into his mouth. He crunched the hot, salty skin before getting to the even hotter soft center.

"And I say it's a perfect day for experimenting… huh, Pearl? Huh? Huh? Knowhatimean? Knowhatimean?" Amethyst nudged Pearl, imitating a popular sketch from an old British comedy show that Greg had shown her.

Pearl sighed and gave an eye roll so great it looked like it hurt her head.

"All right, fine," she said, "If it means that you'll leave me alone, I will try eating something."

"Success!" said Amethyst.

"Lucky for you, we have some food right here," said Steven, looking down at his oysters.

"Don't you think we should try to give her something simple?" asked Garnet, "Like one of those cheese sticks that you peel?"

"Garnet, look around you," said Amethyst, "We're at a festival. It's fried stuff and sweet stuff all around."

"And by tasting an oyster, it would be like she was tasting Beach City itself!" said Steven.

"I always admired your poetic spirit, Steven," said Pearl. Although she agreed to the experiment, she had that majestic, deer-like stance that told everyone that she was still prepared to run away from the situation if necessary.

Steven grabbed a plastic fork from the condiments table and stuck it into one of the smaller oysters on his plate. He held it up to Pearl in all of its deep-fried splendor. "Here you go."

Pearl took the fork very cautiously. This was nothing like all those times that she would bake pies and enjoy every bit of the experience (even if she was enjoying no bit of the pie). She held the oyster up to her dainty nose and sniffed it. She then leaned away in disgust.

"It smells like the ocean…" she said.

"Duh, because it's seafood," said Amethyst.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," said Garnet.

"No… I should get it over with."

Steven couldn't believe how nerve-wracked Pearl was… actually, he could believe it. He could swear that he felt calmer and more controlled at the doctor's office before getting a shot than Pearl was at this very moment. This woman acted as a foster mother of sorts when his own mother could not comfort him from scary things that weren't actually scary and yet here she was afraid of a piece of food.

Pearl closed her eyes and opened her mouth. When she stuck the fried oyster inside, she closed her lips and slid the fork out quickly.

"I know how to do this," she said while keeping the oyster on her tongue, "I've seen you do it all the time." She moved her jaw up and down very slowly. She looked like a squeezed piece of putty with the way that she scrunched her face. She blushed powder blue much like she did whenever she felt a powerful emotion.

Steven clutched the hand that wasn't holding his lunch and he felt a sense of victorious elation as Pearl was getting closer to swallowing the bit of food.

"She's going to do it…" he whispered.

Pearl's stopped chewing and opened her eyes wide. She let out a combination of a whine and a hum – an alarm made by some _one_ rather than some _thing_. She spit the slimy, partially-chew clam onto the ground and then spit some more to make sure there were no traces of the offending food in her saliva.

"That was awful!" she said, "It's like I was putting the ocean inside my body!"

"Yeah, that's almost what Steven said," said Amethyst.

Steven's heart sunk a little. He was hoping that Pearl would be a true parents figure and show that trying new things wasn't scary. It was a good thing that he already knew this and that there weren't any impressionable little kids around to take in the lesson that adults weren't perfect… or maybe there should have been? They need to find out sooner or later.

"It was squishy and salty and the oils burned by tongue and I think there was a hard part that I couldn't crush with my teeth!"

"It was probably a piece of shell," said Garnet, "Oysters do grow in shells, you know."

Amethyst spotted a stray cup rolling on the ground. It had either escaped from someone distracted by the fun atmosphere or it simply grabbed a ride on the wind from an overly full garbage can. She grabbed the cup before it could go on its merry way and ran back over to the chewed piece of food on the ground. She squatted down and used her right hand to sweep the oyster into the cup along with the bit of dirt that was around it.

"Well…" said Steven, "I guess what matters is that you tried something new… or you _tried_ to try something new. Next time we can try with a little sliver of tofu."

"Maybe," said Peal. She struggled to get her face back into its original look of content but some sourness remained. "But I think I would have to be crazy to try this again."

"Don't judge all food by how one piece of it tastes."

Pearl looked at Amethyst, who looked satisfied for reasons that simply did not fit the situation. Although she enjoyed screwing around with Pearl and laughed at her misfortunes, she usually did something to let her know of this, such as laughing and saying a quip.

"Amethyst, what do you have in that cup?" asked Pearl, "I thought your drink came in a can?"

"It's the oyster you tried," she said, "I'm keeping it for posterity sake. I want to let generations of humans know that Pearl once tried food."

"Oh good ness gracious, I'm going to be sick all over again."

Garnet rested her hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Pearl," said Garnet, "I'm sure Amethyst will keep that thing in her room. Now let's go do some other activity to clear our minds of this weird event."

Steven expected Amethyst to do something like this. But remembering what his mother was like (from stories he was told, that is), she found beauty in all things on earth, whether it was on the land, in the sea, in the air, soft or rigid, dirty or clean, natural or man-made. Perhaps there was untold beauty in a spit-out piece of seafood that only he could see?

He looked inside the cup that Amethyst was holding and peered at the oyster once more, which lost its crunchy skin and was broken apart in its dirt-seasoned lump. He saw nothing of value from any perspective, not from his mother's perspective or someone who was a fan of seafood. Maybe he wasn't doing this right?

"Are you sure you want to keep that?" he asked.

"Of course!" said Amethyst, "It has a shiny thing in it. And I like shiny things."

That's what Steven was doing wrong. He wasn't looking close enough. There was a tiny, shiny bit in there that glimmered at just the right position in the sunlight.

"Oh man," said Amethyst, "I dunno about you but I'm ready to go on the tilt-o-whirl and throw up what I just ate."

Since Steven loved rides, he left the shiny thing in the back of his mind, a hard feat since shiny things by their very nature were hard to ignore.


	2. Return to Nature

Steven and Connie returned from a joyous afternoon bike-riding. He made extra sure to place helmets firmly on his head and Connie's since he knew how overly-cautious Connie's mother was. Because they had done a whirlwind tour of the city, they felt that it was time to go back to Steven's house and do nothing more than relax. Steven was in better shape than last year but he still had his physical limits and so did Connie.

They stepped off the path and onto the sand. At this point, they had to go through the trouble to carry the front halves of their bikes since there was not enough friction for the wheels to work. Each step made them sink into the soft, white sand and Steven knew that some of that gritty stuff would find its way into his shoes, making for a more awkward-feeling experience. At least he wasn't that far from the house.

Once they parked their biked under the stairs, they made their way up to the porch. Steven was already anticipating the feeling of air condition that would hit him as he opened the door to his house. He knew it would be on since Pearl was home.

However, before they were hit with that cool, cool breeze, they were hit by something much more unpleasant. At the top of the porch was an offending odor that curled the inside of Steven's nose and nearly brought tears to his eyes. He instinctively coughed several times and pinched his nostrils.

"Ugh," said Connie, "What's that smell?"

"I don't know," said Steven, "It started a few days ago and all I know is that it's been getting worse."

Something was clearly decomposing somewhere. Steven figured that maybe other members of the household knew about it. He opened the door and managed to catch Pearl as she rematerialized on the magical platform from some sort of anonymous quest.

"Pearl," said Steven, "There's something smelly outside and we don't know what it is!"

"Steven, please remember to keep the door closed when the air conditioner's on," she pointed out.

"That's not the important part, Pearl! The important part is that something outside stinks really bad!"

He ran inside (without shutting the door first) and grabbed Pearl by the hand, who slouched over to more closely match his height. Steven then urgently led her outside.

Once Pearl's famously pointed nose sniffed the air, it did not take her long to recoil in horror.

"Heavens to Betsy!" she said as she protected her nose from the odor, "If I hadn't been traveling, I would have noticed this earlier!"

"So I assume you don't know what it is, either?" asked Connie.

"If we follow our noses, it will lead to the source," said Steven.

"But the smell is seemingly coming from everywhere."

"I know one person who knows a thing or two about terrible smells," said Pearl.

Being the angry mother figure that she was, she marched back inside and approached the grand door with everyone's gem embellished onto it. She pressed the purple one, which caused it to glow but did not give her access since only those who bore that gemstone could do that. Once she did, muffled, loud rock music could be heard. The lyrics were unintelligible but one could still tell which decade it was from (the 70's, Steven assumed).

Pearl knocked as loudly as her delicate palms could.

"Amethyst!" she shouted, "Amethyst, open this door right now or so Diamond help me!"

Amethyst opened the door with a heavily smug look on her face. She crossed her right leg over her left as if she were going to be there for a while.

"Or else Diamond help you what?" she said over the music.

"You know very well how that sentence will end! Turn down that music!"

"What? I'm a little hard of hearing, young lady." She held her hand up to her (invisible) ear while snickering.

"I said turn that music off!" By this point, Pearl's voice had the intensity of a jet engine and it was impossible not to hear what she was saying.

"What?"

"I SAID TURN DOWN THAT MUSIC OR…"

Amethyst then went over to the stereo buried in large amounts of clutter and trash and turned the music off.

"…OR I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT A PEARL IS REALLY MADE OF!" Pearl stopped herself when she realized that her voice was the only noise filling the room. Now, Steven couldn't help but Snicker.

"Calm down, spaz. What's up?"

Pearl sighed. "I will tell you 'what's up.' There is a noxious odor outside and we don't know what it is."

Amethyst looked up and wrapped her thumb and forefinger around her chin. "Hmm… noxious odor. Oh yeah! _That_ noxious odor!"

"So you knew about it all along?" Pearl shook in the legs. She sounded stern but controlled the outburst that would normally result from Amethyst admitting something like this.

Amethyst ran outside with her long, purplish-white hair tailing behind her. Steven moved out of the way since he knew that she wasn't the type of person to say "excuse me" very often. Steven, Connie and Pearl followed her to where the porch extended to the other side of the house.

Here, the extra lounge chairs were folded up and stored under a tarp from when it rained a few days ago. Even then, some of those chairs had been folded up all summer, particularly the ones that managed to accumulate spider webs. Hardly anybody went to this corner of the porch, which wasn't surprising since it reminded Steven of a tropical outdoor haunted house. It was here that the smell reached its apex and nobody but Amethyst wanted to tread any further.

"I guess those seagulls gave up on it already," said Amethyst. She got on her hands and knees and crawled under the droopy tarp. She reached to the back and pulled out something white: it was a Styrofoam cup.

Pearl's eyes widened.

"Is that what I think it is?!" she gasped.

"Yeah!" said Amethyst, "It's that oyster you tried to eat!"

"You kept it outside?! I thought I told you to keep it in that pigsty of a room!"

"I did but it needed some fresh air. And I guess I forgot about it."

Normally Steven would get used to the way a certain area smelled once he stayed there long enough but the longer this rotten, fishy odor lingered in the air, the more sick to his stomach he felt.

"Get rid of it now, young lady!"

"Pearl, you should be proud of it. It's coated in your saliva, so you contributed to its smell."

"I refuse to accept that I contributed to something so unhygienic and… natural!"

"It's your baby, Pearl! Don't you want to say goodbye to your baby before it goes?" Amethyst ran up to Pearl and waved the stinky cup in her face. This quickly led to them running around in circles with Amethyst enjoying every second of Pearl's disgust. Amethyst's powers included her whip and curling into a razor ball. Causing chaos could very well be added to the list.

"Amethyst, we should look for a place to dispose of it," said Steven.

"All right, all right. You have any ideas?"

"Let's find a garbage can on the street. We can't let it stink up the kitchen garbage."

Steven, Connie and Amethyst walked into town as the sun set. The telltale sign of the night arriving was the street lights coming on and this hadn't happened yet. However, shadows were covering every square inch of the city street so it was bound to happen soon. Amethyst kept the cup closed tight so that the smell wouldn't escape.

When they passed one of the cute beachside homes with a tiny backyard, Steven looked at the lovely arrangement of flowers and other plants. A P.J.M. rhododendron sat in the middle of the display like a grand old queen and surrounding it were light pink petunias. Surrounding the light pink petunias were white and sky blue daisies. This person took pride in picking the right colors that went together. Indeed, a flower garden was just as much of a fashion statement as a clothing ensemble. Most important of all, this garden didn't just need planning; it needed nutrients and care for it to get to where it was today.

"You guys," said Steven, "I have a better idea."

Connie and Amethyst stopped.

"What is that?" asked Connie.

"Let's return that rotten thing to the earth. We can add it to the compost pile at the community vegetable garden. You know, make something ugly and smelly help make something beautiful." At this point, Steven was starting to understand a little more why his mother saw beauty in everything.

Connie smiled at Steven's sentiment. "That doesn't sound like such a bad idea."

"Whatever floats your boat," said Amethyst.

Steven and Amethyst swung a left and led Connie to Concept Street, where a previously empty lot now held a bustling and colorful display of vegetables, although this display was not as even and organized as the flower one. It was fiercely protected by a chain-link fence so that hoodlums wouldn't vandalize it, although Steven was saddened to think that anything like this would be necessary.

Once they stepped inside, they wandered into a lovely urban secret (to everyone else who didn't have keys, of course). The grass around the garden plots was overgrown in wild strands. Cricket chirps tickled the ears but they managed to remain hidden. A large tree from the next yard reached over the fence but restrained itself enough to let the sun shine on the vegetable plants. In that tree was a robin, one of the last birds to go to bed, singing its evening song for all to hear. Steven's favorite part was the old couch that someone abandoned in the lot. To others, it was trash but to him, it was a nice addition to a wild living room.

"The compost is over here," said Steven.

They approached three large wooden boxes. One had a pile of soil, the middle one had a pile of soil mixed with decomposed refuse and the third was mostly empty. A sign on the fence had a colorful illustration of how to properly mix the compost along with a list of things that couldn't go into the compost pile. This included diseased plants, plastic material, nuts, glossy papers… and animal byproducts.

Steven ignored the sign, especially since this animal byproduct was a small one that people wouldn't even guess would fit into that category just from looking at it. He took the cup from Amethyst and shook it so that it would fall into the dirt pile of the middle box. He took the shovel next to the compost, shoveled some dirt from the first box and mixed it with the compost in the second box to spread everything evenly. He then shoveled the compost into the third box so that the contents at the top were now on the bottom.

"This is what we do every time to make sure the compost doesn't smell too much," said Steven.

"So stuff lives, dies and breaks down so other stuff can live and die," said Amethyst.

"Yes," said Connie, "That sounds about right… although you make existence sound circular and pointless."

"I can dig that."

Steven, Connie and Amethyst left the garden and at a good time, too: Steven was starting to notice mosquito bites on the exposed areas of his body. He imagined that they stayed away from Amethyst since they preferred to suck from creatures that contained blood rather than creatures that were light-based illusions: just another reason to be jealous of the gems.

Steven made sure to lock the gate behind him before continuing down the street.

Not long after, a certain Mrs. O'Brien walked up to the garden gate with her own key. Her eyes were tired but from her smile at the prospect of checking up on her plants, she was also quite determined. She had on a T-shirt, some well-worn jeans and boots that had on them a painted shade of mud but still managed to show their cute flower design near their tops. She fumbled with her own garden key and unlocked the gate.

The third plot from the entrance was hers. She took a good look at her budding lettuce, green tomatoes, shiny red peppers and juicy eggplants.

"I hope you babies are hungry," she said.

She opened up the third compost box. Steven made sure that it was in a uniform pile so that none of it would spill out when the next person opened it. With what strength her elderly arms had left, she lifted the shovel and mixed the pile some more. As she did this, a tiny white light shined through the dirt where the decomposing clam was tossed around. It was the size and shape of a light that would come off of a firefly.

"That's curious…" said Mrs. O'Brien.

The tiny light flickered a bit until going dormant once more.

"Must've been my imagination. This foolish old brain of mine…"

She then began shoveling the compost into her plot. The third mound that she shoveled included the decomposing clam. Once her plot was covered with the dark, soft, smelly blanket, she mixed it about with the lighter, less nutrient-dense soil that the growing plants had already used. Mixing these two soils together made a nice chestnut brown that would eventually reach the plant's roots.

After Ms. O'Brien left, the life came back to the tiny, white dot. Its starry shine permeated through the thin layer of soil next to the largest eggplant. It knew that it had competition. Not everything could be shared.


	3. An Intergalactic Feast

Much like the rest of its thirteen-billion-year history, the vacuum of space was just that – a vacuum. It was a place that deceived the more advanced lifeforms with its twinkling lights, parts of galaxies that, from afar, were far prettier than anything that any watercolor artist could think up. But alas, it was no place for life to linger. Life needed a barrier in the form of some sort of atmosphere, a place where the vast expanse of the universe was nothing more than something that one could only dream about.

But then there were the exceptions.

One such exception was a large starship that floated as an island in the ocean of darkness. This aqua-blue behemoth had windows that peered into residences, offices, kitchens, mess halls, public services and places of worship. There were much smaller ships that went in and out of gigantic garages and buzzed around like bees in the universe's biggest hive. Right now, the starship was idle, much like the people of importance who were enjoying the large feast that was taking place.

The Grand Dining Hall was occupied with people coming from a mixed batch of alien races. There were seal people, penguin people, crab people, seahorse people and any other sea creature one could think of. The most numerous of them all were the people who looked like grey blobs with beady eyes and doll-like arms that each lived in shells that encompassed their bodies that they could open and close at will. All of these creatures were dressed in their best suits, bowties, dresses, tiaras and jewelry, although whether or not they wore shoes depended largely on the race in question.

The banquet was laid out with the main dish being a gigantic fish stuffed with another fish stuffed with another fish. The dishes around it consisted of algae, plankton, shrimp and other beings at the bottom of the food chain prepared in creative, colorful ways. There was also bread made from… sea wheat. Indeed, such a thing did exist on whichever aquatic world these creatures came from. For the time being, the food was just for display as the people there played in a symphony of friendly voices.

At the end of the table was a massive individual. He was like the clam people except he was about eight feet tall. This creature, far from being the cute, little bivalves that he ruled over, had tentacle-like growth coming from multiple places on his body, including above his mouth, which made him look like he had a beard. His eyes were lazy and bored but they also had a gleam of wisdom that made the others respect him. He was regal in his mountainous girth, which made him practically immobile. Then there was the most famous part of him, namely the round, white, well-polished formation in his forehead.

One such clam person ( gonein70seconds .deviantart art /Corinthia-585718684) was resting her head on the table, not exactly having the time of her life. Among the party-goers, she was the one that sat silent, waiting for the party to continue so that it would creep closer to being over. She loved her impeccable hearing and considered it to be a gift but she considered it a curse at a time when people were gushing over the Great Gold Goddess and wondering what this fantastic woman was going to do next. She couldn't even pay attention to the lovely sparkling wine that was at the right of her plate, which continued to bubble on as if something tiny were having the greatest death by drowning anyone could ask for.

Next to her was a three-foot-tall "man" who resembled what someone one Earth would call a leafy sea dragon. He had three sets of leaf-like flippers, a swirling tail and two leaf-like protrusions coming from where eyebrows would sprout. And there was no forgetting the long, trumpet-like mouth that was twice the length of his head.

"Corinthia, what's wrong?" he asked, trying not to let his mouth tip over his wine glass. He had a notepad in his hand with his pencil at the ready.

"It's the voices, Laertes," said Corinthia, "Those many voices assaulting my ears with words of blind faith."

"I don't know about you but anyone would give anything to attend an elegant feast such as this. So at least pretend you're having a good time."

The massive clam creature used two of his smaller limbs to lift a fork and wine glass. He tapped them together three times to get everyone's attention. The room was big and empty enough for this to produce a noticeable echo.

"The Great Lord Tridac wishes to speak," said a well-dressed (the part inside his shell, that is) clam person next to the large clam creature.

Lord Tridac cleared his throat before he began.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. His voice was deep enough to shake the tables and intimidating enough to prevent anyone from questioning what he said. "I welcome you to the Celebratory Feast of the Pearl Goddess' Efforts, paid for through tax payer's money of course."

Corinthia rolled her eyes, not that her pupils were visible enough for anyone to notice.

"We are gathered here for this celebration because two years ago today, a great gift was bestowed upon the pincta people. The pinctas were once the laughing stock of Liquidia, at worst the weakest and most cowardly of all the races and at best, so cute that the ladies of the bigger races would pinch our cheeks."

The pincta next to Corinthia rubbed his cheek with care.

"I'm still sore from that one time," he commented.

"But ever since the three Pearl Goddesses came, we have become a force to be reckoned with. They came here representing the substance that forms when an infection arises within us and they used their powers to make those pitiful weaknesses into our greatest strengths. The other creatures would not be bowing down to us and cowering in fear if it were not for them. Please welcome The Grand Ladies, Gold Pearl, Black Pearl and White Pearl!"

From the other end of the room came three sharply-dressed women. The one on the right had grey skin, flat, shoulder-length black hair and a dress that looked like erratic raven's down. The one on the left had white skin, short, bouncy cream-colored hair, a flowing, snowy gown and a fraction of a smile that was close to becoming a look of glee that only existed in the world of television advertising. The middle woman had warm yellow skin along with hair that was shimmering gold, a gold so brilliant that it looked artificial. Her gown made her look like a living trophy and, from the praise she was receiving, it was going to be awarded to herself. What all these three women had in common was that they had tall, lithe bodies, pointed noses and, most important of all, large, perfectly round pearls in the center of their foreheads.

"All hail the Great Pearls!" said everyone.

Corinthia didn't say anything but no one seemed to notice.

"Yes, yes," said Gold, "I love all of you, too."

"And I do, too!" said White Pearl.

Gold took her scepter and hit White over the head with it. "What did I say about not speaking unless spoken to?"

"To not do it?" White rubbed the new lump that Gold gave her.

"Yes. Now follow that useful piece of advice!" Gold then turned around and hastily put her superficial smile back on. When she took her place at the end of the table, the other two pearls took their places on each side of her. Everyone held their breath for what the lovely, powerful Gold Pearl was going to say next.

"I have come here to deliver some good news," said Gold, "One and a half years ago, we planted an Olivine Pearl on Planet EL-5532 in hopes that it would present a good atmosphere for both pearl cultivation and Liquidian colonization. Well, the results are in and Olivine Pearl has developed normally. She shall emerge in the next few days, ushering in a new ruler for the planet!"

The entire table cheered and clapped wildly, sounds that annoyed Corinthia. Each clap was like little illegal explosions to her eardrums. She felt the need to retreat into her shell until the applause was over.

"When that time arrives, we shall fly to that planet and witness the creation of a new goddess and the new chapter for our empire." She raised her glass. "In the meantime, eat, be merry, and do other things that interest organic life forms but I couldn't care less about."

Everyone raised their glasses and cheered before digging into their grand nautical meal.

Laertes picked up a bowl of a lumpy, blue side dish and spooned some onto his plate.

"Would you care for some mashed moss, madam?" he asked Corinthia.

Corinthia looked at her work partner and his spoonful of moss. She remembered that she hadn't eaten in a while.

"Sure," she said, "Pour some into my drink." She picked up her glass of murky seawater and Laertes added the moss to it. Some of it floated on the top while bits of it swirled about.

"Are you sure you want to eat that way here? The other pinctas are using their jaws."

"I eat in whichever way I feel like," said Corinthia. She extended two thin siphoning organs from the tip of her tongue and into the glass. One siphon sucked up both the water and the debris while the other spit out the water. The other pinctas had grown used to eating in the manner of land creatures but Corinthia was more comfortable filter feeding. She felt the smooth, room temperature water flowing through the tip of her tongue while at the same time, the physical food bits were congealing in the back of her throat in a satisfying lump that she had no trouble swallowing. As she ate her dinner, the water in the glass became cleaner and clearer.

All the while, she hoped that the pearls and Lord Tridac would spend some more time partying and schmoozing before bothering her about her inner "treasure." Lord Tridac was already becoming tipsy from the great horn of sparkling wine he was eagerly consuming, so she didn't have to worry about their pestering, at least tonight.


	4. Garden Woes

Steven returned to the garden the next morning wearing the same overalls he wore when he dealt with Watermelon Steven (God rest his fruity soul). He brought along his trowel and gloves, which he hated wearing when it got too sunny but felt that they were necessary to keep dirt out from under his short, stubby fingernails. There was but one cloud in the sky, a cottony, transparent one that had no plans on blocking out the sun. That sun would be necessary for the vegetables in Steven's plot, and it was the sun that he thanked each time he left the garden.

He expected to hear many things when nearing the community garden: birds, cars going down the street, people in one of the nearby houses talking.

Out of all the sounds he expected to hear, an elderly woman screaming was not one of them.

He very nearly dropped his gloves and trowel as he ran to the open gate of the garden. Mrs. O'Brien was in front of her plot. She was pulling on her hair and about to fall to her knees.

"Mrs. O'Brien!" said Steven, "What's wrong?"

Indeed, he ran to her plot to take a look for himself. What he saw made him just as awestruck: the soil in Mrs. O'Brien's plot had turned a dusty light brown and every single one of her vegetable plants had died, including the weeds she had yet to remove.

"My beautiful garden!" she said, "I was about to enter one of those eggplants in a competition!"

Steven saw the scraggly, stringy forms that were once plants. Being unable to cry for help, these plants had simply given up on themselves and accepted their fate. The only question was, how and why did it happen?

Mrs. O'Brien angrily yanked one of the plants out of the ground and showed it to Steven. "These were going to be heirloom tomatoes! Now they're nothing!" The plant she showed Steven had a dried-out, green, bulbous lump that looked somewhat flattened.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. O'Brien." He then scanned his brain to look for any bright sides. "If it makes you feel any better, dried green tomatoes make a good side dish."

The old woman didn't say anything. She just stared down at the lost effort of her old, arthritic hands.

"We need to call an emergency meeting of the Community Garden Club!" Like a responsible digital native, Steven took out his smart phone and pressed the icon for the meetup app known as Clubnutz. As soon as he arrived at the mobile-friendly version of the community garden's page, he made a new post:

"EMERGENCY MEETING: Strange things are happening to the Concept Street Garden. Meet at High School Room 207 as usual by 6 PM tonight for more info and what to do about this."

As soon as he pressed "Submit," he put the phone back into his overall pocket and felt a sense of accomplishment that didn't quite equal that of completing one of those epic gem quests but still made him satisfied.

Steven and the other members of the Community Garden Society met in Room 207 that night. Outside, the hallway was colorful and modern (as most high schools built within the last five years are) but it was also dark, as nobody was expected to be there at that hour of the evening. However, Room 207 was bright and welcoming as it usually was. It was a place where different discussion groups and extracurricular clubs took place. The table was cleaned off so that no signs of previous use by the wildly different social activities remained. The people who came there didn't need to bring much: just notebooks, paper and electronic tablets… and food, since it was dinnertime.

Sweet old Mr. Chervil led the meeting, which was attended by eight people. Even though this was a crisis situation, he was calm as usual. He stood up at the end of the table with his hands cusped together.

"Good evening, fellow gardeners and activists," he said. He sounded much like the public radio announcers that Connie's mother listened to. "And a special 'good evening' to Steven's three… erm… magical mothers."

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl sat at the left side of the table.

"It's a pleasure to be here, Mr. Chervil," said Garnet. The table was a bit too low to the ground for her and she found herself fidgeting to fit her legs underneath.

"And I'm happy to be of help," said Pearl, who brought her microscope and petri dishes.

Amethyst, on the other hand, was chowing down on the bean-filled fried corn cakes and cabbage salad.

"I'm mostly here for the pupusas," she said with her mouth full. "Thank you, Mrs. Sanchez, for bringing these golden cakes of the gods!"

" _De nada_ ," said the fellow society member.

"Well, as long as you're not experim-eating," said Pearl.

"We have been called here to discuss a pressing matter tonight…"

"My babies are dead!" said Mrs. O'Brien, "My edible babies are dead!"

"What she intends to say is that her soil has been struck with a mysterious malady that has managed to kill her plants in a single night. We're at a total loss as to how this has happened but Mrs. O'Brien has brought us a bagged soil sample for Pearl to look at.

Mrs. O'Brien took a bag of peaked soil from her purse and handed it across the table to pearl. Pearl opened the bag and poured some of it into a petri dish, resulting in a small, dusty cloud that, thankfully, didn't get any bigger than a baseball. As soon as she covered the dish, she inserted it under the microscope. She turned on the little light and carefully turned the course gear while her eye watched for anything out of the ordinary.

"Hmm…" hummed Pearl.

Steven and the others stared at Pearl intently.

"Yes, this soil is definitely depleted of its nutrients."

"That much we know," said Mrs. Sanchez, "But what is causing it? And how do we stop it?"

"I don't see anything in this soil suggesting any creature or chemical that siphons off nutrients. One explanation is that these creature or this chemical sucks the soil dry and then flies off somewhere." Pearl looked at Mrs. O'Brien, who looked up from pushing down her cuticles. "Mrs. O'Brien, did you do anything to your garden the night before this happened?"

"Yes," she said, "I added compost to my garden. And what happened was the exact opposite of my intentions."

Steven stiffened and felt his stomach shrink. The compost. That was where he, Amethyst and Connie dumped the rotten oyster. Could the rotten oyster somehow cause something like this to happen?

He swallowed his saliva and managed to calm himself. This was easy since he liked to imagine that his mother within him was the one telling him to calm down and to not be nervous. There was no way that an oyster alone could do something that destructive. And besides, the old lady probably used the compost sometime before Steven added anything to it. Still, he didn't want to bring up this possibility.

"I brought a sample of the compost for comparison," said Mrs. O'Brien. Out of her purse she pulled another plastic bag, this time with dark, healthy soil. She handed it over to Pearl, who took it with pinching fingers.

Pearl was overly sensitive around things that were disgusting or natural but knew that it was necessary to come face-to-face with this mix of soil and rotting refuse for the sake of study. She poured the dark soil into the next petri dish and inspected it under her microscope.

"Nothing out of the ordinary here," she said, "Just decomposing organic material, although it's too bad we don't have other people's compost to compare it to."

"Well if it's just that compost, then maybe we should get different fertilizer to spread on it," said Steven.

"It seems like we will have to do that and put a sign on the compost bin telling people not to use it," said Mr. Chervil. "We may not crack the case of what's been siphoning off out nutrients but we can at least fight it."

The next evening, Steven and the gems came back with four large bags of organic fertilizer (Garnet was carrying three). When they arrived back at the "scene of the crime," Steven had a weird feeling that the patch of dryness was starting to extend outside of Mrs. O'Brien's plot. The grass that stuck out outside of the wood was starting to turn yellow. He really hoped that it was just his imagination.

"All right, everyone!" said Steven. He had put on a sudden mask of positivity as he said this. "Let's get Mrs. O'Brien's vegetable garden back!"

The first thing he did was start digging the dusty soil out of the plot and into the trash bag that he brought along. He made sure not to get any of the tainted soil on the ground as he did this.

Amethyst put her hand on Steven's shoulder.

"Allow me," she said. In a flash of light, she transformed into a small, purple bulldozer with her face still intact and plowed the dust into the bag as Steven held it open. This was much faster than his idea.

Soon enough, all of the drained soil was gone from the plot… but Steven then noticed a large, noticeable crack at its bottom. It struck the wood in a way where it buckled with the force of whatever was put on it. The center had a space big enough for something small to slip through.

"You guys!" said Steven, "Look at this!"

The gems were intrigued at the formation but not necessarily horrified, at least not yet.

"Whatever's been taking the soil must have slipped under the ground," said Pearl. She had the worried tone in her voice that she usually had when something goes wrong at a temple or in a dungeon.

All the while, Steven kept thinking to himself, "An oyster totally didn't do this."

"It's probably from the pressure of something heavy that was in this plot," he said.

"Yeah, like a giant mutant turnip," quipped Amethyst.

Steven then straightened his stance and looked at the sky while scrunching his forehead to look important. "Yes… like a giant mutant turnip!"

"That was sarcasm, buddy."

All four of them cut open each bag and poured the dark, clumpy soil into the plot. Steven could detect manure in its odor but it was a more refined version of the odor which was offset by more tolerable earthy smells. Since he was wearing gloves, he was not afraid of really reaching into the bag and grabbing as much soil as he could. Pearl, of course, wore gloves when pouring out her bag but Amethyst was not afraid to get down and dirty. In fact, from the way she was spreading out her contribution, she was about ready to wallow in it. Garnet took virtually no time to empty her bag. Her strength made it so that she could just pick up the bottom corners like a blanket and have all of the soil fall out at once.

Once they were done, Steven took his right hand out of his gardening glove and wiped his sweaty brow.

"Well, guys," he said, "We did good today."

"You mean we've done well, Steven," said Pearl.

"Grammar this time?" asked Amethyst, "It's like you find any reason whatsoever to nag."

"Well if it weren't for me nagging you guys would forget to put up the sign we made." Out of her bag, she pulled a sign that said "This stuff is dangerous! Do not use!"

Steven took the sign and hung it on the compost bin by looping its string around the middle latch. He tilted it so that it didn't look too crooked and to provide some civility to make up for Amethyst's somewhat sloppy handwriting.

Steven and the Crystal Gems left the scene correcting a horrible mistake with an unknown cause or nature. Then again, they weren't familiar with where all the monsters that attacked town came from. The soil was ready for new life and new color.

On the next lovely summer morning, Steven and Connie rode their bikes around town. They tried to outrace each other on the street while at the same time be mindful of where they were going. Steven pumped his stout legs as much as he could, feeling the rush as his bike sped past Connie's. It wasn't a competition, though; otherwise they wouldn't have been giggling the entire time.

They continued their racing venture on Concept Street and Steven won the race… until he noticed that it was because Connie stopped short at a strange sight. Steven stopped as well when he saw that a crowd of people were gathered outside of the Concept Street Community Garden. Some of them were fellow gardeners that Steven had recognized from the meetings and the garden visits whereas others were just gawkers.

"Has anybody called the police yet?" asked one person.

"Are you sure it's the police you should get for this matter?" asked another, "Not a paranormal investigator?"

Steven parked his bike and ran over to the crowd. Unfortunately, he was shorter than many of the people there so he skootched his way to the front since he was too polite to shove.

What he saw was nothing short of astonishing. It was the exact opposite of the intended actions of last night: The entire community garden had turned into a desert. Every plot, including Steven's, looked like Mrs. O'Brien's. Goodbye to the string beans. So long, Boston lettuce. _Arrivederci_ , tomatoes that Steven wanted to use in an experimental sauce. The grass around it had withered and curled into brown and gold strands. There were no animals venturing near the garden – the squirrels looked for burying places elsewhere and the birds were singing but they were singing somewhere else. Overnight, the garden became the husk of its previous state, devoid of color and giving the impression that it had been neglected by the rain and sunlight.

And then there was Mrs. O'Brien's plot, which looked as if it was sinking into the center of the garden.

"Steven whats – Oh my gosh!" said Connie.

"No, this can't happen!" said Steven, "We put in new fertilizer!"

"Maybe you should call the other gems about this."

Steven grabbed his cell phone and pressed Pearl's name in the contacts list. Once he heard the three beeps, Pearl picked up.

"Pearl!" said Steven.

"Steven!" said Pearl, "I'm fighting off a worm creature. What's the matter?"

"The garden is dead, Pearl! Everything is dead!"

There was silence over the phone. At first, Steven thought that Pearl was speechless until he heard the grunting of thrusting attacks in the background.

"I'm sorry, what was that? This creature won't leave me alone."

"The entire garden is dead. There's no life left in the soil."

"Stay there, Steven. Garnet, Amethyst and I will evaluate the scene for more clues as to what's going on. I'm sure there's a more… magical… explanation for what's going on."

Connie took some of the hair in front of her shoulder and twisted it. Her eyes were nervous, quivering pools. It made Steven almost regret correcting her vision since she was using it to see Ground Zero of something that would surely eat the town.

"I heard the word 'magic' in there," she said.

"Well that's what happens when scientific things are ruled out," said Steven. He didn't intend to sound worried but he did. He looked down and rubbed his arm. He hated awkward moments like this and he wanted it to go away in favor of having summertime fun again. He had the feeling that these moments were going to become more prevalent as he got older.

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl eventually arrive to see the damage for themselves and they were no less shocked about the encroaching desert.

"Oh my…" said Pearl.

"It must be caused by something small and concentrated as opposed to something spread out," said Garnet.

"Heaven knows what kind of corrupted gem could be doing something like this. That's the only logical conclusion I can come up with."

"Ladies, we're going to have to have you move a few feet back," said a police officer. In his hand was hazard tape slowly unraveling as he walked by with the words "CAUTION: DO NOT CROSS" repeated in black letters on a yellow background. Now things were getting serious.

Steven stared at what used to be the garden and felt the guilt sneaking up on him and tickling him all over his body. As he watched the desert very slowly expand (something that was done only if one could look closely enough), he couldn't take it any longer. He hated keeping secrets or lying, so like a shaken-up bottle of soda, his confession popped out.

"It was me!" he said. In hindsight, he shouldn't have done this in front of a police officer but there was no backing out of this now. "It was the oyster that did this! I dumped that oyster you spit out into the compost!"

"Steven!" said Pearl, "You know that animal products don't belong in the compost!"

"I think that's the least of our worries, Pearl," said Garnet.

"It wasn't just me, though. Amethyst and I did it!"

"Hey!" said Amethyst, "Why are you dragging me into this? It was your idea!"

"But you could have stopped me!"

"Stop arguing, you two!" said Pearl, "Now, Steven, can you explain to me how you think the rotten oyster did this?"

Steven hadn't thought that far. He picked the first possible explanation off the top of his head.

"I don't know… maybe your saliva is deadly, Pearl?"

Needless to say, Pearl was not too flattered with this explanation. She put her fists on her hips and leered at Steven.

Connie turned around to contribute to the conversation.

"Amethyst, you said there was something shiny in the rotten oyster," she said.

"Yeah there was, wasn't there?" asked Amethyst.

"And what shiny thing grows inside an oyster?"

There was a pause before Steven said his answer.

"A pearl!" he said with his index finger pointed upward.

"And where did that oyster come from?"

"It came from the seafood place at the Ocean Festival," said Amethyst.

"And where was the oyster cultivated?" asked Garnet, continuing the chain of questions.

"Uncle Dizzy's Oyster Farm. Said it right there on the sign."

"And where is Uncle Dizzy's Oyster Farm located?"

Amethyst started to look uneasy at this point. Steven shared her feelings, both because of his developed sense of empathy and because he had every reason to feel that same feeling of having his nerves turn to jello.

"By the kindergarten." Amethyst scratched the back of her head and squinted her eyes.

"The same kindergarten where you were made _and_ that still has traces of bio-serum and other life-giving chemicals from its heyday, which can very well leech into the surrounding water."

Once again, there was silence among the group, except that this silence lasted considerably longer and involved everyone looking at everyone else. Pearl and Garnet had no reason to feel guilty about this but still had to deal with the consequences. Amethyst balled her fist and coughed. Connie twirled her hair. Normally, Steven felt a sense of accomplishment (much like with the dungeon example) when he put puzzle pieces together, especially if it was a picture of a boat or an old painting or a pretty garden. But this picture was considerably ugly and unable to be broken apart easily. Conflict was about to come up and he knew it just as much as everyone else did.


	5. Special

The medical examination room on the spaceship was just one of many but this didn't make it any less unsettling. All sorts of symbols that were familiar to the Liquidians were posted on the wall along with directions and warnings. The hum of a refrigeration device was going, continuing for five minutes and then stopping for another five, leaving the place silent enough to hear muffled conversations in the other rooms.

The pincta sitting on the examination table clearly did not want to be there. His body was pockmarked with teal pearls that varied in size and shape. He rubbed these areas as an anxious habit, although by doing so, he was making them more appealing to look at.

There came a knocking at the door. The pincta very nearly squished his body into his blob form out of habit but stopped himself from doing so.

"Are you decent?" asked a cheery voice.

"You may come in," said the pincta.

The door opened slowly and in walked Black Pearl and White Pearl. White Pearl was her usual cheery (borderline creepy) self while Black Pearl was secretly wishing that she was doing something else, preferably something that Goldie wasn't making her do. They both wore white lab coats but this didn't mean that these articles of clothing were clean; blotches of dark greenish-blue were scattered in random places. Black Pearl had the handle of something sticking out of her pocket.

"Good to see you again Plembie," said Black Pearl in her monotonous tone.

"Sooo…" said White Pearl. If she ever began a sentence with a small word, she had a way of unnecessarily drawing it out. "We have your test results right here."

"Your breathing is normal and so is your heart rate, your urine sample came out clean, you've had all of your inoculations and your reflexes are sharp."

"I can't be that healthy!" shouted Plembie, "I mean… that sounds swell." He nodded his head and gave a look of fake elation.

"And it seems that your pearls are a lovely shade of teal. Teal pearls can materialize water-based spear attacks and have an upper hand in the speed department. We have plenty of those being grown at the moment."

Plembie sighed in relief.

"With that said, we could always use more." Black Pearl took the handle out of her pocket to reveal that it was a freshly-polished, freshly-sharpened butcher's knife.

Plembie trembled as he heard the sound of the metal scraping the sheath. He had a good idea of how unwilling he was to do this from the reflection in the knife.

"Get the dirt, Whitey."

"With pleasure!" said White Pearl. She opened up one of the cabinets and took out a sealed blue bag, Under the line where one was to write the contents of the bag, she had put "REALLY dirty dirt!"

"Which arm do you use frequently?"

"I'm right-clawed," said Plembie. His quivering caused his shell to make rapid tapping noises on the examination table.

"Then we'll do the left arm. You might not be so lucky next time around, though. Whitey, hold him still."

White Pearl grabbed Plembie by the sides of his small body but his squishy makeup made it so that he could easily slip through her hands and into his blob state. It was far more difficult to perform the procedure while he was like this.

"No, Whitey," said Black Pearl, "I meant hold his shell."

White Pearl held down Plembie's shell, causing the rapid tapping noises to cease.

"Can't you at least numb me first?" asked Plembie. At this point, he was looking for any excuse to beg for mercy and, in a medical environment, this was at least one way. "I do feel pain, you know!"

"Really?" asked Black Pearl, "Then prove it." She withheld the knife for the moment in which the patient was to explain himself.

"Um… I say 'ouch' whenever I'm hurt?"

"That proof isn't good enough." With the swiftest reflexes, Black Pearl grabbed Plembie's squishy arm and started sawing into it. Plembie unleashed tormented screams as his body writhed. However, no matter how much he would squirm, there was no escaping since his shell that housed his body was being firmly held down. After a few saws, cyan-colored blood spurted and dripped onto the table. Neither Black nor White Pearl was particularly squeamish or flinching at this sight. In fact, this was just a typical day for them.

Black Pearl was experienced enough with this procedure to steer clear of the major arteries. Once the cut became big and garish enough, she was ready to move on to the next phase.

"Dirt," she said as she held out her gloved hand.

White Pearl handed her the bag of dirt. Blackie scooped out a generous portion and rubbed it into the open, bloody wound, making a gritty, blue slurry. At this point, Plembie screamed loud enough for the entire ward to take notice.

"Stop screaming!" said White Pearl, "You're a man! This isn't pediatrics!"

When the procedure was finished, Plembie hopped out of the room looking defeated. He had a blue-stained tourniquet around his arm that was lumpy from the dirt being held against his skin. Some of that dirt fell out onto the floor. He passed by another pincta with a bandage around his eye.

"How's it going, Plem?" asked the pincta.

"Not too well," said Plembie, "They just got me cut and rubbed."

"That's tough. They did it to my eye last time. But look…" He then lifted his bandage to reveal a searing cut that ran through his lower eyelid. Outlining the cut were shiny, lavender-colored growths that varied in size. "I'm already forming nacre. The pain'll go away once you think about the contribution you're making to the empire. In order to create new life, you must suffer great pain."

With that, the pincta with the sore eye hopped away. Plembie stood there for a moment of introspecting before hopping away himself. He didn't appear any happier.

The massive control room was being monitored by sea creature people wearing headphones and pushing buttons. Above them were floating displays with various codes and functions. After they were printed onto the screen, different pages of information appeared along with pictures of random things and places with context that would need to be explained to those who had just walked in. These massive holographic screens were being looked at by many pairs of inquisitive eyes but the screens' very size made it so that it looked like _they_ were the ones looking down on the creatures.

Gold Pearl strutted in with her almost-nonexistent hips swiveling side to side, a trait of hers that was so noticeable that she seemed less like the goddess that was being worshipped and more like a marionette that some even more powerful person from above was controlling. But alas, she was the star of the show, more obvious to everyone than the stars in the sky. She held a wine glass by the bottom of its bowl and sipped the clear yellow contents bit by bit. When she stopped walking she looked at her wine glass with intrigue.

"So this is what the mortal ones call 'drinking,'" she soliloquized, "I rather like it."

One of the sea dragon people turned around and startled himself upon seeing his ruler.

"Her Grace!" he said, "We weren't warned that you were about to enter the room!"

Everyone turned around at once. The ones that were sitting stood up.

"All hail Gold Pearl, bringer of magic and power!" they said in unison.

Gold Pearl closed her eyes and basked in the golden rays of praise from her underlings.

"It's good to be goddess," she said. She looked at the many screens and noticed that one of them had a list of names along with their assigned classes. She walked over to the pincta at the controls of that computer.

"Sembie," she said, "How is my favorite Head Information Keeper doing?"

"The statuses of our pincta population are up to date, Your Grace," he said. He spoke to her much in the same way that a worker would speak to a respected boss but for all anybody else knew, he probably trained himself to not show terror in the eyes of someone who could have control over his fate. "When it comes to pearls' colors, we have inputted seven shades of red, four shades of yellow, six shades of green, three shades of purple…"

"Yes, I get the picture. You don't have to trouble yourself in telling me all the details."

"We've also tested the majority of the pincta population that has reached full maturity."

"Does this mean that there are no more colors to be discovered?" asked the pincta next to Sembie.

"Certainly not. Babies sometimes get a color that is a fusion of the mother and father's pearl colors, not to mention that mutations spring up every so often. There are more colors to be discovered, meaning that more types of pearl goddesses can spring up and help our cause."

"Always a good thing to hear. Remind me to bless you with good fortune later on."

Sembie groaned with uncertainty.

"That didn't sound very assuring. Is there information you're keeping from me, oh Head Information Keeper?" Gold Pearl took another sip of her white wine.

"Like I said, only most of the pearl-bearing pinctas have been tested. We've found at least one that we haven't examined yet."

"Would you mind telling me which one?" Gold's impatience was escalating feverishly.

No matter how angry she became, Sembie had to tell her the news. It was the classic "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario that became that much more harrowing when discussing matters with a divine figure. "She goes by the name of Corinthia of the Clan Z'rem. Lord Tridac detected a never-before-seen color in her pearl." He opened up a picture of the pincta he was talking about on the giant screen along with information, or rather, the lack thereof portrayed by the lines of question marks in the spaces where said information were supposed to be listed.

"That's funny… I don't see any pearls on her body. She looks positively healthy."

"The pearl is most likely embedded deep within her body somewhere. Either that or she may not have any pearls at all and she lacks the gene to produce them."

"So this is a complicated case we're dealing with."

"Yes."

"One that involves experimentation?"

"Well… there's no other way to do it, Your Grace."

Gold Pearl elevated her right cheek, causing her nose to twitch. "I was looking for a day where I didn't have to deal with any complicated cases. Sembie…"

"Yes?"

"For telling me these things, remind me to deliver pestilence and famine onto your family. This will only end when you slay your first-born." Gold strutted away and took another sip of her drink.

Sembie looked forelornly at his coworker. Soon enough, that look turned to resentment.

"Next time, you bear the bad news!" he said.

"I didn't even know she could do those things…" said the coworker.

As Gold Pearl walked down the hallway, she spotted Black and White Pearl with their blue-stained jackets each holding digital clipboards, or tablets, as those on earth are prone to calling them.

"Black and White," said Gold Pearl, "How has your work been?"

"Another joyful day of butcher – erm… another day of important medical work, M'lady!"

White Pearl looked chipper as a chipmunk when reporting to her boss but Black Pearl kept a calmer, more neutral demeanor.

"We have started the growth process on another three pinctas. We made sure to take their vitals beforehand and the numbers show that they were healthy enough for pearl growth. These little ones are taking care of themselves."

"…and Whitey," said Gold, "What notes have you taken?"

"Notes?" said Whitey, "I just drew stars and flowers on my pad." She then showed Gold the screen, which had drawings of a sky full of fat stars and a field full of simple, five-pedaled flowers, all of them with identical smiley faces.

"I would expect nothing less from you, White Pearl." Gold then pat White on the head like she usually did when she felt patronizing, which was quite often. "However, I'm afraid I have a new challenge for you girls."

"What could it possibly entail?" asked Black, "Could it be… the same thing we usually do?"

Gold rolled her eyes. "Well… more or less. We've discovered a pincta who has a pearl color that no other pincta has developed. I need you to ask her which powers she is capable of and get her to grow some pearls of her own. The fact that only she has this color tells us that she grows a special type of pearl, which could help us succeed in our rebellion."

"Well… that's certainly a new twist on what we usually do."

"I have Corinthia's stats right here." Gold then pulled out a computer chip from her tablet and inserted it into Black's tablet. When the loading bar on her tablet filled up, Corinthia's picture and stats appeared on the screen. "She works as an assistant for a messenger at the media station. Knowing that she rushes around, she may be difficult to find."

"We have our ways of finding her." Black Pearl developed a mischievous crystalline gleam in her eye to go along with her evil smile, "Trust us…"

Before they knew it, Black and White found themselves at Bivalve V's Media Station standing directly in front of the administrative assistant, who was a seal person.

"Yes, we're looking for Corinthia of the Clan Z'rem," said Black most politely.

"Oh, yes, Your Graces," said the assistant, trembling slightly, "She shouldn't be too far from Messenger Laertes' room."

The two elegant pearls towered above the other sea creature people, who either stood by and chatted about recent reports (they didn't have to worry about ratings since they were the only news network onboard) or rushing to different parts of the studio. Sounds of office phones could be heard from the surrounding offices, both on this floor and the floors above them, which had hallways that were perfectly visible from the spacious and echoing main lobby. As the others sped around, the "goddesses" that existed among them walked at a leisurely pace, for they were not prey to any predators, physically or ideologically.

Corinthia was dressed in her cute little assistants' outfit, a dark blue dress that touched the bottom of her shell. As usual, she was happy to be of some use to someone; this was in a pincta's nature, which partly explained why they had such trouble conquering the other races: they wouldn't go long without unintentionally doing what the higher species asked of them, whether they wanted to or not. Because of this, they were not terribly good at sticking to their own morals or standards, although they agreed that they did not always like being told what to do, if only because they craved power and free will. Corinthia, on the other hand, had an itching in her brain. Although she served people well, there was a line that had been drawn in her mind and she would stop herself from crossing it if she came upon a certain task. She had yet to decipher what these tasks she refused to do had in common.

But this task did not cross the line, for it was just getting someone their morning beverage. She had fetched the hot beverage that Laertes requested and managed to hold it steady in her claw even though she was bouncing everywhere. She was about to bounce toward the door of an office until…

"BLEAUUUUG!" said a person who jumped out through the door. This person wore the biggest, most outlandish mask, that of a googly-eyed pink shrimp with large claws and swirly whiskers. It looked like it was thrown together overnight by a child but it was just as jarring as it was colorful.

Corinthia bounced back, causing the hot beverage to spill all over her dress. The liquid was searing for a brief second until it simmered into unpleasant warmth dripping down her tiny body. That unpleasant warmth transferred to her skin as the dress stuck to her.

The three young fish men laughed at her misery.

"I told you it would work!" said the one in the office.

The sweetness that had been inside Corinthia all morning turned to tinges of sour that would take hours to go away. She started to regret telling that one guy about her crippling fear of pistol shrimp.

As if the day couldn't get any worse, her sensitive hearing picked up on two pairs of feet that were walking slower and daintier than the rush of the fellow Liquidian coworkers. Her heart continued to beat fast because this was the day that she feared. Gold Pearl's lackeys could very well be questioning her about the powers that her pearl gave her… or at least the powers that she _thought_ her pearl gave her.

But it's okay, she assured herself, they could be here to talk to someone else.

"Corinthia?" said Black Pearl.

…or maybe not. Corinthia turned around and looked up at the lanky ladies. Black Pearl gave her stern look but White Pearl had her default look, which consisted of a little, friendly smile. Although they were bigger than her, she was not intimidated in the slightest. This did not mean that she wasn't going to _pretend_ to be.

"Dear Corinthia," said Black Pearl, talking like a wealthy elder (which, in a way, she was). "It's a pleasure to see you here."

"Erm…" said Corinthia, "It's a pleasure to see you here, too."

"So you're from the Clan Z'rem?" asked White Pearl.

"That I am!" said Corinthia, "We're a strong and trustworthy clan!" At this point, Corinthia remembered that she was presenting herself to these goddess aliens with brown liquid spilled all over her front.

"Can it with the chitchat, Whitey," said Black Pearl.

"Canning the chitchat, Blackie," said White Pearl. She then pretended to zip her mouth shut to get the point across.

Black Pearl then focused her attention back on Corinthia. "We're here to talk to you about something else. We need you for testing."

"…oh?" said Corinthia, pretending to be surprised, "I thought you already got my information?"

"I'm afraid we don't. You're a special case. According to Lord Tridac, your pearl's color is one we've never seen before. Knowing its rarity, it could very well help us in our struggle to overcome the forces that stand in our way."

Corinthia stopped with her cute, oblivious act. Before, she figured that there were other pinctas out there that had her pearl color and was afraid that they would be the ones to contribute to the empire's cause. This was not the case, though. The higher-ups caught on to her unique condition and confirmed her worst fear: that she was special. "For all we know, my pearl might not have very many powers. I mean… you can't even see it."

"But we won't find out unless we do some tests, now will we?" Black Pearl took out some plastic gloves and fit them to her delicate grey hands, resulting in a light snapping noise as the ends of them were let go and secured onto her wrists.

Corinthia was aware that these ladies were putting on an act like she was but it was an act of power and coercion. She saw right through them.

"So what do you say?"

Corinthia scrunched her face into a frown. "No!" She then turned around and bounced away, feeling the most empowered she had felt all day. It almost made up for the humiliating moment before… almost. She couldn't hear the two "goddesses" running after her, so she kept a normal bouncing pace.

Meanwhile, Black and White stood there in shock. They looked about ready to question the laws of the universe.

"Well that was easy," said Whitey, "Her answer was no. Let's move on."

"Whitey, can your miniscule brain comprehend what just happened?" asked Black Pearl, "She said the one word that pinctas have the most difficulty saying! This shouldn't be possible."

"Well, it clearly is because she just said it."

Black Pearl sighed. "Mind as well break the news to Goldie."

"No?!" screeched Gold Pearl, "She said 'no?!'" The Great Leader's teeth grinded while one of the veins on her forehead looked like it was about to burst. This one word that Corinthia said transformed this woman into a furious harpy ready to grasp with her needle-like talons, which was quite the achievement for a little oyster creature. It was too bad she wasn't there to relish in it.

"I know, right?" asked White Pearl, "We didn't think it was possible, either."

"I want you to go back to her and try again!" Gold Pearl was especially careful to annunciate the last two words.

"If we go back and ask her politely, she's just going to say 'no' again," said Black Pearl.

Gold Pearl made a downward pushing motion with her arms and took a deep breath. "There are other ways to get her to comply, girls." She glanced at her tablet, which showed the picture of Corinthia along with her profile. "Nobody said we had to be polite about it."


	6. Two Perspectives

Steven sat on the couch while the other gems sat around the coffee table in some form or another. He was more focused on his breath than usual, possibly to drown out the awkward silence. As Pearl sat in the chair, she had her legs close together and bouncing slightly. Amethyst's fingers tapped on the coffee table one at a time, creating a galloping noise. Garnet sat still as a statue; she had her way of being quiet to the point of being unnoticeable despite her size. Pearl looked at Amethyst. Amethyst looked at Garnet. There was no telling where Garnet was looking because of her glasses; for all they knew, she was looking into the future and seeing a heated argument play out. They all knew why they were there and what they were thinking. They knew that they weren't going to agree on any solution. They didn't even agree on who would speak first.

"So…" said Steven, "Are we going to talk about this?"

"Talk about _what_?" asked Amethyst, "I can't possibly know what you're thinking."

"Amethyst!" said Pearl, "Denying the existence of a problem won't make it go away!"

At this point, Steven felt the onset of sickness in his stomach.

"It's not a problem, you guys!" he said, "It's a gem! Just like you!"

The silence started up again, lasting a few seconds. Uncomfortable truths tended to do that.

"We're not calling the gem a problem, Steven," said Garnet, "It's the situation that's the problem."

Pearl sat up straight in the chair.

"No human in living memory has ever witnessed a gem gaining sentience," she said, "Today, humans have developed the land in so many ways. This gem could cause a level of destruction that would be insurmountable."

"I thought gems needed injectors in order to come alive," said Steven.

"They don't need injectors per se. Injectors just make the process easier and faster so that mass production on the scale of The Kindergarten is possible. What they need is the right ingredients, both magical and otherwise, and the right environment."

"This should be a no-brainer, you guys," said Amethyst, "We're supposed to be protecting the Earth, right? So we should destroy it."

"No!" shouted Steven. He reflexively stood up with his arms in the air. He had to stop the conversation at that moment because he simply couldn't let something like this happen. "We can't just kill a gem! She's not doing anything wrong!"

"Uh… it's a developing gembryo, Steven. She's doing _everything_ wrong."

"But she doesn't mean to. She can't help it that she has to destroy the land in order to come alive. Can't we bubble her up and freeze her in time or something?"

"Her developing process has already started," said Pearl, "If we did that, we'd only be burying the problem for later."

"This thing destroyed your garden, Steven," said Amethyst, "Why do you have such an attachment to it?"

"Because Rose cared for all life! The smallest ant and the biggest whale and everything in between! She would never do this!" At this point, Steven could feel the tickling of the tears welling up in his eyes. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl sat there and stared; were they considering the idea that he made a good point or were they shocked at how he was acting out? Steven turned to Garnet, who had mostly sat idly to hear how the conversation panned out. "You agree with me, right Garnet?"

"There is no clear and easy answer, Steven," she said, "We will have to weigh in the points of killing the gembryo versus not killing the gembryo and we will have to do it quickly because this one is gobbling up the community garden as we speak."

Pearl sighed.

"As much as I hate to admit it…" she said, "I think we need to destroy the developing gem. At this point, it would be the best for all of us." Although she disagreed with Steven, she had no enthusiasm in her voice like Amethyst had.

Steven bowed his head. He couldn't bear to look up at his mentors and continue the conversation.

"If anybody needs me, I'll be in my room." Steven didn't care that he wouldn't have privacy as his "room" was actually a loft. He had saved the human race on several occasions but found this one task to be much more morally grey. Facing this threat could mean that he would grow up a little more since he would be doing something that he was afraid of doing. He wanted some more answers, though. He wasn't ready to stand by his views until he heard each individual side during occasions that were more intimate than a group meeting. He wanted to see why they thought the way they did.

First up was Steven's dad. He was not there during the meeting but he always went to him when he faced a moral crisis such as this. The day after that painful meeting, Steven decided to go to the carwash when Greg was on his lunch break. Steven had told him ahead of time, so he got a take-out pizza for the occasion. This would normally make Steven quite happy but all he could do as he sat in the back of his dad's van was stare at the crimson pepperoni and greasy cheese. He was normally able to eat this particular type of food, even with the smell of car soap in the air, but he just couldn't muster it.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" asked Greg, "You're usually not one to turn down a good slice."

"Dad, that thing that destroyed the garden is a baby gem," said Steven.

"So?"

"The Crystal Gems are going to kill it. It doesn't mean to destroy the land. I don't want to kill something that doesn't know any better. Even the most corrupted gems get bubbled up."

"Well, it doesn't seem to bother you that a pig and a cow had to die in order for you to enjoy the pepperoni on your pizza."

"But pigs and cows aren't the same as gems, Dad."

Greg scrambled for something to say since this was quite the unusual dilemma. "Son, if that's the way you feel, then think harder about what type of creature is doing this. If this was a hideous beast with thirty eyes, five mouths and tentacles all over its body, would you feel this way?"

Steven pictured the monstrosity in his head and gave it some more features, such as a reptilian body and a noise from its mouth that sounded like gurgling. As much as Rose loved every living thing, he found it difficult to love this creature. "I don't know… maybe I wouldn't feel as bad."

"The reason you don't want to destroy it is because it's not that. It's something else. What is it?"

"Well… we don't know what it looks like yet but we figured out that it was a pearl that grew on Uncle Dizzy's Oyster Farm."

"Aha! I think we've found why you feel the way you do."

Steven was ready to listen to his dad's explanation. Greg may not have been a psychiatrist but the man was Steven's dad and that was enough for him. "Why?"

"This gem, once it's formed, is going to be the same… er… kind as Pearl. She'll probably look a lot like her. Pearl has been a mentor to you and has played a part in shaping how you are today. She even, dare I say, loves you." Greg muttered the next part while turning his head the other way: "…even if she's never quite felt the same toward me."

Steven never thought about this. He had never seen another Pearl and, for all he knew, they could have been very different from the Pearl he knew. But this didn't stop him from having sympathy for the dangerous creature living within the earth.

"You feel bad about destroying this gem because you feel like you're destroying one of the mother figures that you've had through most of your life."

"So what should we do?"

"Truth be told, I feel kind of sorry for this gem-to-be and it would be nice if there was a way it to grow without disturbing anybody. But otherwise… I don't know. It's up to you guys to decide. They've probably done this more time than I can count."

Steven felt a little better knowing that his father understood where he was coming from, even if that answer consisted of "You have mommy issues."

"Still, I figured that Uncle Dizzy and his oysters would be famous for something else. Like a norovirus epidemic."

"Hehe… yeah," said Steven. Despite feeling down in the dumps, he was too hungry not to do something about it, so he took a bite out of his pizza slice, which had cooled enough so that he didn't need to blow on it or worry about burning the roof of his mouth.

The next morning, Steven pushed himself to get up right before sunrise. This was difficult to do in the middle of the summer since, at this time of the year, the sun tended to rise at an earlier time. Whenever he had trouble getting out of bed, he would tell himself that if he could travel up a tower of water and talk sense into a rogue gem, he could do this. And besides, it may have been cooler due to the early hours and the proximity to the ocean but it was better than having to face the morning air during the winter.

He slipped on some loose, comfortable clothing for the occasion.

Garnet materialized by the dimensional gate. She was up and ready for the morning activities, mostly because she needed no sleep.

"Are you ready, Steven?" she asked.

The last bit of sleep that Steven felt like he needed showed itself in the form of a yawn.

"I'm as ready as I can make myself," he said.

Steven and Garnet stood in front of the ocean moving in ways that were slow and graceful, not too strenuous on the body or mind. The sun peaked over the ocean, making the sky orangey-pink and clearing away the darkness so that the day could begin.

Steven was supposed to focus on his mind and body as he did tai-chi but he performed these move many times before, to the point where he could hold a conversation without having to think about them. He waited until he progressed to the part of the move set where he held an invisible ball of air.

"Hey, Garnet," he said. He paused because, on second thought, he didn't really know how to approach this question to someone who was actually going to perform the questionable task in mind.

"Yes, Steven?" asked Garnet.

"How can you have the heart to destroy a fellow gem?"

Garnet waited until she transitioned to her next stance to answer.

"Well, Steven, thousands of years ago, Rose and the rest of us branded ourselves as The Crystal Gems to set us apart from the other gems. As you've learned from Lapis Lazuli and The Cluster, gems are usually hostile, selfish creatures who will stop at nothing to suck up all the resources around them."

"So you're against all gem-kind now?"

"More or less… unless those gems adopt our moral code and switch to our side. We may not have very many on our side yet but if we've managed to convert Peridot, then we can surely convert others."

As flawed as humanity was, Steven couldn't imagine joining a group of people who were against all humans and had no remorse for murdering others. This was why he couldn't believe Garnet's logic on the subject.

"But you're a gem made of love. You understand love better than the rest of us. Surely you can love this gem!" Despite being on-edge, he managed to keep up with the tai-chi stances.

"Yes, Steven, but I also love this planet. I love it just as much as your mother did and I would do anything to protect the place where Ruby and Sapphire first met and fused. _This_ is my home world now, not Home World."

"But what do Ruby and Sapphire think? We haven't asked them yet."

"They don't matter, Steven. Just because they fused in order to create me doesn't necessarily mean that they're here right now. Now let's keep making our movements and listening to the tide go in and out. All this talking has made us forget about our breathing."

As usual, Garnet was right. Steven had to put this issue by the wayside and continue this particular move set… although this talk about the tides did give him a good idea.


	7. Two More Perspectives

Steven walked past Concept Street. For some reason, this day felt shadier than usual. For all Steven knew, it was because he was noticing the shadows on the earth more. He held a plastic bag containing a box of donuts from the Big Donut. He usually felt happy when he went there and this time was no exception. Talking with Amethyst about the subject at hand was not going to be easy but donuts and milk were going to make the situation a bit more bearable.

When he turned to the side, he saw the remains of the Concept Street Garden. Not only was it barren but the area in the center continued to gradually sink as if it were the biggest, slowest, driest toilet in existence. This was not the astonishing part, though. What was astonishing was that he saw Pearl there. Whether it was going to the Strawberry Battlefield or going to the store to get food, she always alerted Steven of where she was going. However, she never mentioned anything about this.

She stood there stiff as a pole, staring forlornly at the former garden. She grasped at the chain link fence separating her from the gembryo. She looked like she was looking at the catastrophe-to-be but also like she was staring into space, suffocated by her thoughts. The only time Steven saw her with that look was when she was reminded of Rose. It was not just a look of sadness but one of love and closeness, and indeed, she was close to this gem physically.

Steven was usually one to comfort people who were sad but he didn't want to question Pearl about her feelings this time lest it stir up painful emotions from the past or the present… or the future. He continued to walk by with the donuts without Pearl noticing him.

When Steven sat at the counter with Amethyst, he knew the drill; he ate one donut while Amethyst gobbled down the other five. This time around, she did it as a shark, which entertained Steven greatly but made a mess of the kitchen area from all of the unpredictable flopping she did in the environment that was clearly surrounded by air and not water. By this point, Steven had trained himself not to have food anywhere near the back of the throat while Amethyst was doing anything funny since Garnet wasn't around to do her G-force Heimlich maneuver (which was both a blessing for his windpipes but a curse for his diaphragm).

Amethyst transformed back to her default form and brushed off her pants.

"Pearl will have fun cleaning that up," she said. She then sat back down, took a gulp of milk and slammed it onto the counter, causing it to splash and form a confined white wave in her cup.

"Hey, Amethyst?" asked Steven.

"Yeah?" asked Amethyst.

"How can you feel the way you do about killing that gembryo?"

"Steven, my man. I, and other types of quarts, were built to battle. We are fighting ready from the day we emerge from the ground to the day that we're shattered into tiny pieces. When fighting things, I don't let things like love and attachments get in the way and this is all for the better."

"But I'm a type of quartz and I don't feel that way. And besides, if love has nothing to do with it, then what gets you to protect other people and gems?"

"Because if I don't protect them, they won't like me. It's as simple as that." There Amethyst went again, trying to act all tough.

"But you do feel things. You felt bad when Peridot made jokes about you."

"Yeah… that's true..."

"From that, you learned how people feel when you make jokes about them."

"Enemies are different, Steven. As far as I'm concerned, what they feel doesn't matter. My sympathy ends where their evil acts begin."

"Well… what would Rose say in a situation like this? I feel like she would give this gem a second chance."

"I've got news for you, Steven. You're not Rose. Yeah, she died in order to make you but if you were her, we wouldn't have mourned her when she did that."

Steven hated it when any of the gems brought up this unfortunate fact. He was told on countless occasions that he was loved and useful but just one reminder of his mother's sacrifice nullified all of that.

"You have to stick by what you believe in, not what you think your mother believed in. I mean… if she didn't die to make something better than what she was, then why did she die in the first place?"

Steven remembered that emotional home movie that he viewed with Sadie that one morning. "To become human, Amethyst. And humans are humane. The reason I don't want us to destroy this gem that is about to come to life is because I am humane."

Amethyst gave a stony stare. She was just as emotionally affected by this answer as she was with fighting an enemy. "Okay… if that's the way you want to roll. I'm gonna go outside and hurl rocks at the water. You can join me… unless you think rocks have feelings."

Amethyst got off her stool and walked toward the door.

Steven was left confused, which was something that he normally didn't feel when his mouth tasted fresh of chocolate frosting. Unlike with the pizza lunch with his father, he didn't have much food to stare down at except for a few stray sprinkles. He probably shouldn't have stuck his nose too far into Amethyst's point of view. She always had that way of using her sassy-ness to get her point across. Steven wasn't much for tough love. He wasn't much for tough hate, either. Or tough anything. He wished to have a resolution that didn't involve violence, which made him glad that his weapon was only a shield.

"What is Amethyst talking about?" he asked himself, "Rocks _do_ have feelings."

Steven rode his bike past the patch of desert on Concept Street. When he stopped, he noticed the same area slowly caving in toward the center with the other garden plots gradually moving toward their fate. However, there was something new: in the exact center, a light was visible. It was shy; it didn't emerge completely from the ground but little rays were gleaming from the lifeless soil. Gems didn't so much wear their clothing as they did mold them to their body via shape-shifting, although they could easily make them disappear through those same means. This meant that they didn't have the same definition of nudity as humans did. What Steven was seeing was a naked gem, not entirely confident enough to show her entire bare form but willing to pop up and say hello.

But that may have just been Steven anthropomorphizing something that wasn't anthropomorphic yet.

Anthropomorphism was one thing but Steven was at least sure that this ball of light could perceive things in some way. Could it hear? Or feel? Or sense things in ways that humans couldn't comprehend?

"Pearl?" said Steven. He had no other way to address this gem and there would be no confusion since the _real_ Pearl wasn't here.

Steven could have sworn that the ball of light flickered a bit at his voice.

"My name is Steven. I live by the ocean and I'm a gem, just like you."

This time, Steven knew that the gembryo recoiled a bit at his voice. It shrunk back into the ground to the point where the rays of light looked like nothing more than tricks that the eyes played on the mind.

"Don't be scared. No one is hurting you right now. I've never seen a gem before it's a gem before. I want to do that thing that scientists do… you know… observe."

The gembryo didn't react at first, at least not right away. It gradually rose up above the ground once more, this time more than it did when Steven first laid eyes on it. He couldn't believe that something so stunning could cause so much damage to life on earth. If he could mold it this much with his words then surely he and the gems could mold it so that it could be a respectable gem that fought for their cause. Not all gems were programmed by the empire… right?

"I'm sorry we have to destroy you… but I'm also happy that I got to talk to you."

The gembryo flickered a bit and then went back to shining like a star come to earth. Steven figured that he shouldn't develop more of an attachment to this intergalactic anomaly than he already had, so he rode off and never turned back.

Since it was August, The Beach City Library was not as bustling as it usually was during the school year. However, people still used it as a hideaway to do their reading or research. It was only recently that Steven stopped going to the children's section, which was still decorated with happy seashells and starfish that overlooked the beanbag chairs. Steven kind of missed the beanbag chairs but he enjoyed being in the adult section since it tended to be quieter there – much quieter.

It was also closer to the manga section since not all manga was for kids. He scanned the shelf of colorful titles until he came upon the one he was looking for: Taro the Defiant. And they had the latest volume there, too! While he was up, he also grabbed other manga that looked interesting that he would read later.

He took his books to the polished wooden table where Pearl was sitting. She never missed a chance to come to the library with him because she had always thought that the library was one of humanity's better inventions. She agreed with Steven that air conditioning belonged with libraries in the top three of that list and, thankfully, this library had that, too.

Pearl was sitting at the same table with her nose in a textbook. When Steven hopped onto the chair, he opened up the latest volume of Taro the Defiant, remembering to start at the "end" and read from right to left. Last he left off, Taro was talking to the female lead, who was always one to keep her true feelings from people. The previous issue ended dramatically, with Taro shouting, "What is it you really want?!" and Haruko sitting there silent. Haruko, at the beginning of this volume, finally spoke up.

"Taro…" she said with reflective anime eyes, "I'm not on your side."

Taro, of course, was confused. He then became scrunched-faced angry, although the typical comical elements of anger (like steam coming out of his body) were absent since this was meant to be a serious scene.

"How can you not be on our side?!" asked the master swordsman, "If you're not on our side, that means you're with the enemy!"

She then stood up so that she was closer to his eye level: "Taro, how can you think that way?! The world isn't as black and white as you perceive it to be! I'm my own person with my own beliefs!"

Steven then shut the book.

"Okay, that's a good place to leave off," he thought, even though he was perhaps the only person on earth who would close a book at an emotionally powerful scene. He then looked up at Pearl, who was enthralled by the book's subject matter, although not enough to exclaim anything.

"Hey, Pearl..." he whispered.

Pearl's eyes remained in her copy of Human Anatomy Fourth Edition.

"Peeeeeaaaaarrrrrlll..." whispered Steven more forcefully.

"Oh..." said Pearl. "What is it, Steven?"

"Um… What are your thoughts on destroying that gem that's not yet a gem yet? I mean… you've kind of told me but you haven't really explained it."

Pearl's reaction to this was not as awkward as Steven thought it would be and she dived right into her explanation. "Well, Steven, I like to look at situations like this from a philosophical standpoint. If I may take a chapter from Jeremy Bentham, a moral act is one that causes the most pleasure to either one person or many. An immoral act causes the most pain to others. This isn't just physical pain and pleasure but emotional as well. With this in mind, we must weigh in the consequences of our actions."

"By destroying the gem, we'll be causing her pain," said Steven.

"Yes, but I think you can agree that the pain of the planet and the people living around the gembryo's spawning grounds far outweigh the pain experienced by the gembryo."

"How do you weigh those sorts of things, Pearl? If we left the pearl where she was, she would only hurt a little bit of the land. It would be like the planet getting a paper cut or something."

"But then there's the factor of the other humans not being too happy about property being destroyed. Humans tend to be very protective of what they claim to be theirs, almost to a stubborn extent."

"Don't you feel bad about doing this, though? I mean… I just want a solution where everybody is happy."

This time, Pearl didn't answer right away. She was trying to ingest a few more sentences from her text book. "Of course I feel bad. But in real life, not everybody wins. It's a sad truth but we must all learn it." Pearl managed to sound authoritative but at the same time respectful.

Out of the explanations Steven had heard, he was most satisfied with Pearl's answer. He knew that, to a certain extent, she felt the same way but didn't know of a better way to deal with the problem. She was still brave enough to go through with fighting and killing the gem. If only she could teach Steven to be that way.

Now was the time to change the subject.

"What are you reading, anyway?" he asked.

Pearl looked up in surprise even though she really didn't have a reason to act that way.

"Oh, this?" she asked. "I'm just reading about human anatomy. You humans are like machines, so intricate with all your bones and fluids and organs. It's all so disgusting but I'd like to understand you a bit more from the inside out, much like Rose did."

"Okay..." Steven figured that Pearl might become a bit more tolerable of human bodily functions if she did this. Good for her.

Pearl went back to her reading. Steven wanted some alone time for thinking. He felt as though he hadn't done enough of that for himself. The bathroom should be a good place for that.

As he got off his seat and walked past Pearl. He got a quick glance of the chapter she was on: The Female Reproductive System.


	8. Not Just Another Day

The set of the latest interview segment was homey; two comfortable chairs, a table with a plate of assorted cookies and a hearth in the background that was similar to the ones that the terrestrial residents on Liquidia used to cook their meals. It was specially designed to remind the residents who were no longer planet-bound of home and make them hopeful that the next planet that would be conquered would be one that they could call a new one.

The only aspects that seemed out of place were the makeup people making sure there were no blemishes on the faces of Laertes or his very special guest for that day, Her Grace Gold Pearl. Pearls help us if there were any imperfections anywhere on Gold Pearl.

Corinthia was at the edge of the stage watching the preparation take place. The workers were treating the interviewer and the interviewee as props and these two people acted as props in that they stood still as everyone was doting over them. Even the fire in the hearth was livelier than they were.

But then Goldie's eyes met Corinthia's. Corinthia flinched but she didn't cower, especially since she saw this woman as just a normal person with an inflated ego (far different than a goddess).

"Corinthia!" she called, "Please massage my shoulders! I'm feeling quite tense."

Corintha just stood there as if Goldie had been calling to a different Corinthia. The fact that she wasn't doing as she was told made Goldie's stare angrier.

As soon as the makeup people were finished with Laertes' face, he managed to give an excuse to Corinthia's un-pincta-like behavior.

"She's my assistant, so she will only do something if I tell her to do it," said Laertes. He looked over at Corinthia, who suddenly felt smaller. "Corinthia, would you mind massaging Her Grace's tense shoulders?"

Corinthia shrugged. She wanted nothing to do with that icky woman but if Laertes hadn't remedied the situation in this way, there would have been dire consequences, even if it was just Goldie throwing a hissy fit. Corinthia hopped over to where Gold Pearl was sitting and perched herself onto the side table. She reached under the golden lady's hair and rubbed her upper back, making tiny revolutions while pressing firmly. This woman's back and shoulders didn't feel tense at all; they felt supple, like she hadn't a care on the entire spaceship. All the while, Corinthia could see herself in Goldie's metallic hair. Nothing about this woman seemed real except her smugness.

If she could, she would have dug her claws into that woman until she bled (if she did indeed have blood). But then a voice shouted, "All quiet on set!"

Corinthia hopped off the table and dashed away from the welcoming scenery. She could finally be out of the way and not needed for a while.

The cameraman, who was an upright seal with dog-like legs, positioned his eye near the camera, which was small and oblong.

"We're live in three… two… one..." he said. He then turned the camera on and pointed at the set, at which point, Laertes sprang to life.

"Good evening, Bivalve Five!" he said with a positive attitude that he never showed elsewhere, "You are watching another episode of Cozy Corner. I am your host Laertes D'Naki and we do hope you can enjoy our baked goods."

"How can the viewers enjoy them when they can only watch them?" asked Corinthia to herself.

"Oh, they can be a feast for the eyes," said a wise, weary voice.

When Corinthia turned around, she saw an elderly male pincta wearing the top part of a jumpsuit (it is impossible for creatures with no legs to wear pants, you see) and a square hat with a wide brim. He had his claw on a waste bucket that had wheels on the bottom. His broom, small enough for someone his size, had a wide brim that was about the size of a simple hand broom that the bigger races used.

"Oh… hello," said Corinthia. Those on the lower echelons of society normally didn't converse with those who were slightly higher up but for some reason or another, this man decided to break that barrier. "Yes… they are quite pretty."

"So pretty that I secretly eat them after people have left the set. They expect me to dispose of them but why waste a moment that is so worthwhile?"

"I like the way you think." Corinthia looked closer and saw the pearls concentrated above the oyster man's left eyebrow. They were small and uneven in shape but their crimson color and sheen made them a work of art. "I also like your pearls."

"Why thank you. They're permanent… I got them from a childhood fight. This was back in the days when we pinctas just had our clamping shells and our trusted nubby claws. Nowadays, you kids have all these superpowers that our pearl overlords have given us… not that I'm complaining about my pyrokenesis."

From the sound of it, this old man wore his pearls as a badge of honor. However, Corinthia noticed at least one of them missing from the streaking scar.

Meanwhile, Laertes was continuing with his act of being a friendly host.

"Now that you know of our generous sponsors, I shall introduce a grand lady who needs no introduction. Right here, we have Her Grace Lady Gold Pearl. How are you doing today, Her Grace?"

"I'm doing just fine, thank you," she said in a voice that tried to sound friendly but ended up leaking smugness.

"So do we have any news about the new colony being established?"

"Oh, there is much news on that! The final ships will be leaving for Ichthyos IV tomorrow with the remaining colonists."

"Now, Ikthiose IV… that one is planning on being a breeding ground for crimson pearls, correct?"

"Correct. So far, in terms of colonization, we have been making leeway on EL-5532, Coral II and our first world, Exodus I. Ichthyos IV will be populated by smiths of all sorts, providing tools and other useful goodies for the empire. They will arrive just in time for the emergence and the coronation of Lady Crimson, who is still gathering light and magic inside her shell as we speak."

"Now, from what I understand, pearls goddesses don't need weapons or armor or any other tools since they can form them with magic. So these weapons and armor are for the other races, correct?"

"Correct. Just because pinctas are the master race at the moment doesn't mean that the other sea creatures should miss out on the fun."

Corinthia felt sick to her stomach upon hearing this woman's inappropriately positive tone.

"This sure sounds exciting, Your Grace," said Laertes, "Tell us more about this planet."

"Oh, it's a wonderful place!" said Gold Pearl, "It is dotted with volcanoes and hot springs and water covers ninety percent of its surface! As for its home galaxy, it is surrounded by..."

Offstage, Corinthia and the janitor continued their conversation

"The name's Jeevan," he said, "And you're..."

"Corinthia," said Corinthia, "I've just started working here as an assistant."

"You have any future plans?"

"Well… not really. I guess my future plans involve trying to get by."

"I would tell you mine but the lady on set has already filled you in."

"You mean you're..."

"Yes. Tomorrow, I will stop being the janitor of this media station and I will start being the janitor of The Grand Pulverizer on Ichthyos IV."

Corinthia knew of the great strides that the empire was taking but didn't know much about the colonies themselves. Those who went to live there often decided not to come back to Bivalve V. It had been a long while since the bottom of her shell touched the surface of a planet so she couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

"What is the Grand Pulverizer supposed to do?"

"Not sure. I'm assuming it has something to do with the weapon-making process? Well, my health may mean that I'm not of proper pearl-producing stock but cleaning up around The Pulverizer is still a high honor."

What could crushing something to tiny pieces have to do with the weapon-making process? Corinthia wasn't a smith of any sort so she didn't have to concern herself with this. She was mostly focused on loathing Gold Pearl and any other pearl "goddesses" she came across. After all, every single one of them was power-hungry. She couldn't imagine even a decent pincta creating a good one.

"Well that sounds fine and dandy!" said Laertes, "Be sure to fill us in on any more details as they come up. Thank you for being with us today, Your Grace."

"Oh, it's my pleasure," said Gold Pearl. She then directed her hazel eyes at the camera. "Remember, good citizens, with our power, our empire with persevere and conquer the one true enemy." She then smiled in a way where the camera caught a sparkle coming off her immaculate teeth.

Corinthia wanted to gag but knew that the noises would end up on the broadcast. Instead, she quietly cleared her throat of the tickling sensation.

"I've got to head on out," said Jeevan, "There are still messes out there." With that, the elderly male pincta bounced off with his trash bin and broom.

"Be sure to join me later on for the latest in celebrity gossip. Now that Vomie Troditz' wife is dead, will he become female and assume the role of mother? Stay tuned for Celeb Chat at sixteen-hundred hours!"

"Aaaaaaand, cut," said the cameraman.

Laertes took off his welcoming demeanor and put his normal face back on. He seemed winded even though he mostly sat there the entire time the camera was on him.

"Oh, I hate the lights," he said, "The brightness gets tiring after a while."

Gold Pearl left the set since there was only a certain amount of time she could stand being around inferior creatures. Once she made it to the other side of the stage, she met up with Black Pearl and White Pearl for what sounded like some important conversation.

But then Corinthia listened closely through the other voices… it was important conversation. Curse her sensitive ears! Now that she was hanging on to their words, she found it hard to let go, so like a radio, she cleared away the interference that were the other noises.

It was a good thing she did because she picked up her name being used in that conversation. She couldn't focus on anything else now.

"You two dimwits know the drill," said Gold, "That assistant girl is going to be working here tomorrow and she takes her break at around noon."

"Noon which planet's time?" asked Black, "Noon spaceship time? Or one of the multiple time zones on multiple planets?"

"Noon spaceship time! Why would I be talking about another timezone on another planet? This is why you're dimwits!"

"Well if I'm so stupid, I wouldn't know about timezones, now would I?"

Gold Pearl sighed and rubbed the pearl on her forehead. "OK. Let's start again. We're going to try and get her during noon spaceship time. She takes her lunch break at the same corner table in the same cafe. I want you girls to use your speed and cunning..." She then noticed White Pearl with her finger swiveling the inside of her pointed nose. "...but mostly your speed to nab her. She's a treasure and we will become unstoppable when we get her pearl."

"Got it. By the way, you're not doing our morale any favors by calling us dimwits."

Corinthia gasped but made sure she was quiet enough not to spark attention. She didn't think of these women as divine or even that notable. But kidnapping and having someone do something to you against your will is terrifying no matter who does it. And what type of self defense did she have? She had no military training or element-based powers that could do any type of damage. In fact, she still wasn't sure what her power was. How could those pearl women possibly know?

Near the end of the work day, Laertes was called in to Mr. Conglom's office. Corinthia technically didn't need to be there since it concerned the person she was working for but she felt that it was easier to receive news of any future plans of his at the same time that he did. After all, her job did depend on his job.

Mr. Conglom stood up at his desk while talking as he usually did. The big, fat, wrinkly, grey man with massive tusks was always one to sound flat and somewhat angry, whether or not the news he was giving was bad or good.

"Mr. D'Naki," he said, "There is a reason that I've called you into my office."

Laertes gulped. "And that is..."

"You've been an excellent interviewer of notable people and an excellent reporter of celebrity gossip these past few years..."

"Oh dear! You're firing me, aren't you?"

Corinthia shrunk slightly into her shell.

"Ha!" Mr. Conglom had that deep, throaty laugh that let others know that he was serious about not being serious. "I'm not firing you, Laertes. I'm promoting you!"

Corinthia felt relief. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled at a noticeable volume.

"Promoting me? What have I been doing that has inspired you to do this?"

"Well… it's not exactly promotion, per se," said Mr. Conglom, "It's more like a test. You see, the original reporter we were going to send to Ichthyos IV decided to back out at the last minute. We figure that we could use a trustworthy reporter to report on the new colony and the birth of the new pearl goddess that will take place in a few months."

Ichthyos IV. That was the planet that Jeevan said he was going to move to. What's more, it was another planet, a place where a new beginning was taking place for many things living or not: the planet, the people moving there… and her. What's more, what was already fantastic was made even more so by the fact that the last ship could very well leave before Gold Pearl's henchwomen could nab her.

Corinthia could feel her eyes lighting up. Laertes, on the other hand, was none too sure about making this sudden change.

"Yes!" she said, "Do it! Do it for your career!"

Laertes and Mr. Conglom stared at Corinthia. She squished her body into her shell to show that she had some sense of shame. "...sorry."

"I'll consider it… but what about the public? People are mad about celebrities, you know. How will they know whether or not Vomie Troditz will change his sex and take on maternal duties now that-"

"Mr. D'Naki, you have better things to do than meddle in the life of a clownfish," said Mr. Conglom.

"Yes, Mr. Conglom," said Laertes, "I'll do it!"

This was the most straightforward and confident that Corinthia has heard Laertes sound all week – maybe all year.

"You've made a good choice, D'Naki. Pack your things because you're going places literally and figuratively!

Corinthia was just glad that she didn't have to explain why she was so adamant about Laertes saying yes to this request.

As Laertes and Corinthia made their way back to the office, Laertes did the other thing that he did best besides complain: fantasize.

"Oh, Corinthia!" he said, "We're going to live the life of space pioneers! We're going to settle on a planet and give it the life that it's meant to have!"

"Yes, it is quite exciting." Corinthia didn't feel like saying anything beyond that but Laertes wanted to talk some more.

"How could you be excited for something like this? Is this really how you feel?"

"Well… I like the idea of living somewhere other than this space station. However, I think that what they're doing is wrong and I will play little part in it other than various tasks to make a living. I just know that the pearl women are mostly using us for their own gain. Once I get definitive proof of this, I am going to broadcast it to everyone and expose those frauds for who they really are."

"That's not a wise idea, Corinthia. I think it's best for you and everybody if you kept your mouth shut in that regard."

Corinthia did not feel offended by naysayers. She simply brushed them off as if they were flakes that would be cleaned up eventually. She didn't even mind that she was having this conversation out loud. The pearl women already knew that she refused to go along with them so there was no point in hiding her feelings.

She also brushed off the gossip that her strong hearing picked up about her being a traitor and a freak. Those were hurtful but insults were just words pretending to be actions; frauds, just like the pearl goddesses.

"You keep telling me that but I stick by my beliefs," said Corinthia, "Maybe I'll find out some new information by being a part of a planetary colony."

"Well just don't make that goal obvious. It's never good to make the higher-ups angry."

"When is the final ship going to leave tomorrow, anyway?"

"I believe it will depart at noon exactly."

Corinthia nearly stopped hopping when she received this piece of information. Considering the conversation she heard from the three pearl women, she realized that this work-related travel was going to be more of an escape. Suddenly, the young female pincta who wasn't afraid of anyone was going to have trouble sleeping tonight.


	9. Innocence vs Experience

The night poured in and so did the crowds. Good news travels fast and everyone had gotten word that The Crystal Gems were going to fight the all-consuming ball of light in the Concept Street Garden. The townspeople enjoyed a spectacle just as much as any human would and the waiting was just as riveting as the main event. The developing gem flashed and flickered, abating the darkness and bringing out comments from those around the fence.

A familiar noise from a familiar van came closer to where the action was going to take place.

"MA-YOR DE-WEY… MA-YOR DE-WEY..."

The mayor's van swerved around the corner and parked at the curb closest to the garden. While he wasted no time getting out of the vehicle, his son exited from the passenger's side as normally as anyone would.

"All right, everyone!" said Mayor Dewey through his megaphone, "There is no reason to panic. We must reason with this… erm… thing." He then pointed the megaphone at the developing gem, which was slowly consuming the dirt around it. "You are not welcome here! You are destroying the beauty of the town and costing planners hundreds of dollars. Please leave."

The gembryo didn't react to the strange man who was artificially amplifying his voice. Instead, it swirled the dead soil around it, causing it to sink further into the ground.

"All right, folks," said The Mayor to the townspeople, "There's seems to be a bit of a language barrier but we will get through to this trespasser."

Back at the temple, Steven sat on his bed with his arms around his legs. The other gems were downstairs walking around, except for Garnet, who was lifting one of those miniature five-pound weights. She didn't grunt or make any other noise doing it, so he didn't notice until he glanced at her from the loft.

"Do I look good enough for tonight, Pearl?" asked Amethyst. She was taking a good look at her eyelashes in a hand mirror (a different one than the one that housed Lapis for so long).

"Amethyst, this is a fight, not a night out," said Pearl.

"But there might be news cameras there. They've gotta get my good side."

Steven felt that it was time to say what he needed to say to the gems. He got off his bed and made it to the middle of the stairs before speaking.

"You guys..." he started. He felt confident about his decision and didn't worry about what the others would think.

"Yeah?" asked Amethyst. She managed to smudge her cheek with the mascara wand.

Steven glanced at the space on the wall where the portrait of his mother used to be. Pearl had taken it down some time back, although he didn't know why. Instead, he imagined the portrait of his mother there, smiling warmly as she always had. "I have decided that I'm not going to stop you from destroying this baby gem. However, I am not going to be a part of it. I'm going to stay home."

"Fine. We didn't need you anyway."

"Amethyst!" said Pearl. Pearl looked at Steven and smiled, although her smile was almost too small to notice. "Steven, if you don't feel comfortable doing this, we're fine with that. I'm proud of you for sticking with your beliefs."

"With that said, we haven't face anything like this before," said Garnet, "This is the first gem to develop on Earth in thousands of years and those who ran the kindergarten and knew how to terminate a gem's development are long gone."

"Not to mention they work for the enemy," added Amethyst.

"C'mon, everyone!" said Pearl in a sugary-sweet voice. He smile changed to one that was so fake that it hurt to look at her. "We can defeat this thing! Just like how we defeated all the other… things..." Her smile quickly fell apart as she looked around the room. "Well, let's get this over with." She then walked down the stairs. She was the first one out the door. Garnet followed and didn't say anything, not even a "be good while we're gone, Steven." Amethyst, per usual, was focused on the task at hand.

"Ye-heah!" she said, "Let's kick some butt!"

With that, Steven was left on his own. He was used to being by himself while the gems were on missions that were too difficult for his expertise but this time around, he had to try not to think too hard about this particular assignment. He needed to do something to take his mind off the subject; he had to play video games. No, he had to play video games with someone special acting as a pillow.

"Oh, Lion!" he called.

Lion woke from his slumber on the downstairs rug and twitched his ears.

"Lion, come up here… please?"

Lion then stood up and had a large, sloping feline stretch. His yawn made the back of his throat rumble in a way that would intimidate most everyone else except Steven, who knew that the big, pink pussycat wouldn't harm unless given a good reason. Lion fought the general rule of cats not listening to commands and lumbered up the stairs. Finally, he plopped himself down at the foot of Steven's bed.

Steven leaned against Lion, who acted as a warm, furry, somewhat firm pillow as he played his game.

"Good boy," he said.

Everybody at the former community garden was keyed up for the fight. Their alien protectors showed up in style and everyone cleared a path for them toward the gate, which had "CONDEMNED" written in large, purple letters on a jagged piece of wood. Garnet used her strength to pull apart the chain before accessing the battlefield. The gembryo flashed and flickered, not having any language to greet these beings. All it knew was that a threat was near and that it was prepared to do its worst. This was the moment, the showdown between the developed and the developing.

"Ready, girls?" asked Pearl.

All three of them had their weapons ready: Pearl with her javelin, Amethyst with her jewel-studded whip and Garnet with her large punching gloves, all of which appeared in a split second on their persons. Garnet jumped into the air with the speed of a cat and punched the ball of light. It was not entirely clear whether the ball of light was affected significantly but it certainly did react. One of its rays made a swipe at Garnet but missed. At this point, the gems knew that this emerging life had some sort of autonomy and since it couldn't move from its spot, all it could do was rage. The displays of lashing light made the public back away further from the fence but also made them "ooh" and "aah."

Pearl stood up straight with poise and grace. As one of the rays of light smashed into the ground, she jumped away from the ensuing dust cloud, looking more like a flower in the wind than a fighter. After landing on her right foot, she powered up her javolin and formed a ball of energy at its tip, one that was noticeably smaller and bluer than the one that they were fighting. She managed to twirl on the dusty ground, a feat that shouldn't have been possible on a surface that wasn't smooth and clean. She stopped and jerked the weapon back while firing and the ball hit the gembryo… but with no expected explosion.

Amethyst wasn't as concerned about making a show out of this fight. She cracked her whip at the gembryo, making it flicker but not doing much else. Amethyst's answer to this was to simply keep trying; she swiped her arm from left to right, working that whip and hoping that one of those hits would cause some sort of damage. After doing this ten times, she became frustrated enough to throw the entire whip at it. Once it hit the ball of light, it inhaled the weapon, adding necessary energy to its growth process. Amethyst's eye twitched and her face became beastly in her anger.

"So that's how you wanna do things?" she asked. She did a running start for her next move, which was the spin dash. As soon as she curled into a ball, she became a spiky, round blur that encircled the opponent six times in four seconds. The crowd cheered at this feat.

"Go Amethyst!" shouted a little girl, "You're my favorite!"

It was uncertain whether Amethyst heard those words of encouragement. Although she had no choice but to grow up quickly after Rose's death, she was still rambunctious as ever. After making several more revolutions, she drove into the ball of light.

The gembryo reacted by grabbing her by the leg right before she could hit its center. The ray of light lifted her up as if to inspect her. Amethyst reacted by writhing and punching the air.

"Put me down!" she exclaimed.

"Her blood's going to rush to her head!" said Ronaldo Fryman.

"She has no blood to speak of but thank you anyway for your concern!" said Pearl. Bless her heart, Pearl was always one to educate the humans who didn't know any better.

As one ray of light was holding Amethyst like a well-loved doll, another launched itself into her body, injecting itself as deep as it could without poking through to the other side. Amethyst groaned and bent her arms and legs, not realizing that tightening her muscles would only make it hurt more. The ray of light that had injected itself into Amethyst's body soon had uncanny lumps swimming from its tip.

"What is it doing?!" asked Pearl.

"Oh no..." said Garnet, who had just noticed Amethyst's unfortunate state of affairs, "I think it's sapping Amethyst of her life force!"

Amethyst continued to groan as her inner light was being drained.

"Everything's going dark!" she said. Her muscles relaxed little by little and her eyes started to roll to the back of her head, revealing lifeless whites… but not if Garnet could do anything about it.

"Leave her alone!" she said. She jumped up and grabbed Amethyst, pulling her toward the ground. Unfortunately, the ray of light was still latched onto her and unwilling to relinquish its sustenance. Garnet punched through the ray of light with all her might. Now that she was at a closer range to this underdeveloped gem, she realized that her attacks only stood roughly half a chance at hitting it. What made sentient gems different from regular bodies of light was that they had mass and bodies that were physical. This one had only acquired some of its mass, so any attacks that hit it had a chance of going directly through it.

Garnet worked up a sweat from both the physical movements and the stress that she was experiencing as she was desperately trying to save her teammate. After enough punching, she felt that she could no longer take being in a situation where the circumstances were out of her control.

"Back off!" she shouted.

With that, the ball of light yanked its ray out of Amethyst. The ray looked as though it shrunk slightly, but like everything else about it, this could have been an optical illusion. It then spun around like a disco ball, attempting to evade any and every move that the Crystal Gems could make.

Amethyst remained unconscious but was not hurt badly enough to poof back into her gem form. Garnet set her down on the sidelines and returned to fighting this monstrosity.

As the ball of light spun, it grew bigger. The barren land that it claimed as its domain was growing bigger as the color was gradually being leeched out of the land around it. Soon, the fence bent toward it and collapsed, bringing down the barrier that was protecting the gawkers. Everyone backed away as the asphalt that made up the sidewalk succumbed to the gembryo's hunger, crumbling like cheap building material. A few screams were heard among the crowd, who knew that this turned from nighttime family entertainment to a genuine neighborhood emergency.

Steven had no idea of what was happening on Concept Street. What mattered to him was that The Crystal Gems were getting the job done and that he didn't have to witness any of it. Lion continued to relax behind Steven and act as his massive, pink pillow. It was the reverse situation of the average pet owner; the pet was staying still in an awkward position for the sake of keeping his _owner_ comfortable.

Steven was already up to the challenging Fantastic Voyage level of the video game The Asimov Kids. A great amount of concentration was needed for this level since it was time-based and he only had a few minutes left to fire the ship's laser cannon at this nasty blood clot that was taking over this man's brain. As time went on, it became more challenging to destroy this deep red blob since it was growing bigger by the minute. PEW PEW PEW… Steven couldn't see the people inside the ship. He didn't know what sort of horrors and stresses were going through their heads as they were so strapped for time in their task. At this point, he wasn't going to defeat the blood clot in time and he didn't want to see what sort of horrifying cut scene would play when the ship would return to its full size while still inside the person's body. He turned the console off and switched the television's input back to Cable 1.

An animation showing silhouettes of different animals in their natural habitats appeared on the screen.

"You are watching Animalia," said the announcer. The name of the network then flashed onto the screen.

"It's on your network, Lion!" said Steven.

Lion rolled his eyes as if he were saying, "You assume that I like this channel just because I'm an animal. You're an animal, too, you know."

Now that the commercial break was over, the channel returned to the scheduled television show, which was "Barking Mad." The announcer then started talking: "We return to the Sinclair Family struggling with their German Shepherd Brutus. Dawn is trying to convince Mr. Sinclair that batting the dog with a rolled-up newspaper simply isn't the way to discipline him." The host, Dawn, was shown onscreen lecturing Mr. Sinclair about his habit. The scene then changed to an interview situation where Dawn was talking directly to the camera.

"It's taken us a while but Mr. Sinclair seems to be coming around," she said, "I think he now understands that Brutus has most likely had a history of abuse, hence why he acts out so often. Disciplining him physically only makes things worse in that regard."

Steven looked at Lion, who gave him a sideways glance.

"I'd never do anything to hurt you, Lion," he said as he pet the large pink cat's mane, "Although you do get on my nerves at times."

On the television show, Dawn shouted at the dog instead of using physical force. This resulted in the dog stopping his barking and whimpering in confusion. Steven wondering why using only words would be effective at quieting the dog. And then it hit him: humans and every other animal can use physical force but only humans could speak (or at least that was the route that evolution took on Earth). The animal could not speak back, possibly because it was confused.

He then thought back to when he was talking to the gembryo a day ago. It shrunk slightly when he spoke to it as if it had no equivalent to how to respond to speaking. Steven's eyes widened without giving it a second thought. Was the solution to this problem given to him by cable TV?

Hopefully, it wasn't too late to tell this to The Crystal Gems.

"Lion, we have to go!" he said.

Lion sensed the boy's urgency and got onto his four paws, relinquishing his role as a fun, warm pillow. Steven's heart galloped as he rushed downstairs to participate in the fight that he originally wanted nothing to do with.


	10. Pearl's Choice

Steven and Lion ran the wooden steps to the water's edge. He positioned himself on top of Lion and prepared for a dimensional journey that would be just as quick as he wanted at this time.

"Lion," he commanded, "Take me to the Concept Street Community Garden!"

Lion looked to his side and nodded. He took off, galloping on the sand with full-body force. Steven held onto his mane and felt the animal's shoulder blades move back and forth. The beach wind was strong enough already but even more air came rushing to Steven's face as Lion ran ever faster. The objects below Steven zoomed past him to the point where he couldn't tell whether Lion was running past shells or rocks or dead crustaceans. However, when he looked to his side, the ocean and the sky remained still.

A portal appeared in front of Steven and Lion, one that Steven only stole a quick glance of before it swallowed the both of them. The beach disappeared and was replaced with patterns of dancing diamonds and bright colors. These simple shapes folded in and out of themselves in kaleidoscope fashion. Steven had always wanted to touch them but never got close enough no matter how fast he moved through the portal.

However, thoughts like that only appeared in his mind in a flash and went away just as quickly as the abstract patterns in the portal. When Steven and Lion arrived at their destination, Lion turned to the side as he landed on the pavement. Steven held on tighter than usual until Lion's body finally stopped.

When Steven saw the scene playing out, he stared in awe. What he saw was wanton destruction and primal violence. A force that his culture told him was good (light) was causing such dark things to happen in a place that was intended to be happy, peaceful and full of life. Indeed, this garden was harboring life but not the kind that ushered in celebration and prosperity. It was the kind that felt that it could hog the material world to itself and ensure that nothing else could benefit from the nourishing surroundings. Because of its monstrous appetite, there wouldn't even be anything around to crave those nourishing surroundings since life and non-life alike were this being's sustenance. Thanks to this moment, Steven could fully picture what the Gem Empire was doing to The Earth all those thousands of years ago and finally understood why his mother was inspired to form The Crystal Gems. From the way that the almost-gem throttled Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, he couldn't believe that he ever pitied it… until he remembered that fighting it was only making the problem worse.

"Pearl!" shouted Steven as he ran through the crowd to the edge of the cracked pavement. He figured that Pearl was the most likely to hear him since Garnet was still giving it her all and Amethyst had been chewed up and spat out onto the sidelines. "Pearl!"

As Pearl was trying to analyze where to hit her spear, she turned around and noticed Steven. When fighting off an enemy, she was usually determined and on top of everything. However, Steven saw a woman with fear in her light blue eyes, ready to break under the pressure of something she thought she never had to deal with.

"Steven?!" she said, "Steven, what are you doing here?!"

"I need to talk to you!" shouted Steven.

"Now isn't a good time!"

"It's about the gembryo! I have an idea of how to make it settle down!"

Pearl looked at him a bit longer and then turned back to the abomination. At this point, she would take any answer for how to defeat this unformed gem. She crouched down and sprung onto the edge of the pavement just as more dirt was being dragged into the center of the former garden and consumed.

Steven took her hand and ran with her to the edge of the street, where it was a little quieter but not much. Feeling her soft, elegant hand brought him back to his younger years when Pearl would take him somewhere far away and she would hurry him so that he would not be in the way of falling rocks or hungry beasts. This time, however, the places were switched and he was the one who had to give directions that could make or break the mission.

"Steven, what is it?" asked Pearl. Physiologically, she didn't need to breathe but still felt that she had to catch her breath to prove her point that she was exhausted.

This was Steven's chance. He took a deep breath.

"Fighting this gem isn't the answer," he said, "It's only making the problem worse."

"Well then how do we control this creature?" The ever-impatient Pearl wanted answers and she wanted them not in a few sentences but now.

From her tone, Steven was unsure as to whether he should give his idea but this was the reason why he was here. "When I was at the garden yesterday I talked to the almost-gem and she stopped shining. She was listening to me even if she didn't understand me. If you fight her, she will just fight back but if you speak, she'll listen."

Pearl stared out into space for a moment.

Steven started to feel self-conscious.

"What's wrong?" asked Steven, "Is my idea stupid?"

Pearl put on her serious face and stood up straight. "Steven, even if your idea is ridiculous, I am in no mood to laugh right now. At this point, we are willing to try anything to stop this gem… not _kill_ it, stop it. In fact, I'm willing to do anything to calm this gem since I have plans of my own."

Plans of her own? Steven followed Pearl back to the battlefield, paying close attention to where this could possibly lead.

Pearl slid down into the hollowed-out garden, where Garnet was still fighting the creature and going nowhere with her strategy.

"Garnet," she said.

Pearl was loud enough for Garnet to stop what she was doing while she was tangled in wild rays of light.

"I'll handle it from here."

Garnet was too busy gnashing her teeth to give any look of befuddlement.

"But Pearl," said Garnet, "Are you sure?"

Pearl didn't bother answering Garnet. Her words needed to be used for a much nobler cause: quashing this monster's ego.

"Hey!" shouted Pearl.

A ripple went through the ball of light. It stopped growing at its current height of about thirty feet and it stopped waving around its rays of light. It still held Garnet in its clutch and was still as intimidating as it was before but this time, someone had its full attention.

Gone was the Pearl who was overly cautious and didn't believe in herself. In her place was the gem who was confident enough to lay down the rules of Earth, one who was not "just a pearl." "In the name of The Crystal Gems and our founder, Rose Quartz, I say we have had enough of your antics! We have been on this planet for thousands of years protecting its diverse life forms and making sure that nothing like what your doing would ever happen again! These resources are meant to be shared and used responsibly and you think you're entitled to all of them!"

As Pearl spoke these authoritative words, the ball of light started to shrink and, little by little, it stopped eating the ground. It eventually dropped Garnet, who landed on her feet.

Steven could feel his eyes become starry while watching Pearl. He was starry-eyed with the idea that _everyone_ was watching Pearl at her best right now. He couldn't believe that what she was doing was going off without a hitch.

Pearl stepped closer, revving up her sense of power to unleash more words. "You thought that we came here for fun and games? Well we're not here for your entertainment, Missy! We are not going to surrender to something that is incomplete in its development! We're here because you're a young, hungry and misguided gem and someone should be teaching you a lesson!"

As the ball of light became smaller, Pearl stepped closer. It eventually became small enough so that Pearl could stare down at it, making it easier to proclaim her dominance.

"From this day forward, you are not going to suck the life out of this lovely planet. The Crystal Gems are going to grow and ensure that life and love shall reign supreme on Earth and you are going to return to being the insignificant oyster scab that you started out as!"

At this point, Steven became intimidated. He was happy that Pearl was defeating the gembryo all by herself but he had never seen her this impassioned before.

It finally got to the point where the gembryo's light had shrunk to the size of a quarter, almost revealing the shard of pearl where it had grown.

"You aren't going to be the garden's problem or the town's problem or the country's problem or the earth's problem..." She neared the gem as closely as possible until the light shrunk down to a flash that matched the light of a faraway star. Pearl knelt down and scooped up the gem, taking some dust along with it. She glared at it for a good three seconds in a moment of loaded contemplation. She then popped it into her mouth, winced a bit... and swallowed the glowing pearl shard. She looked down at her stomach, which, for the first time in Pearl's life, was now occupied by something other than tea. "You are going to be _my_ problem from now on, do I make that clear, young lady?!"

From that came silence. As cliché as television made it, there really was nothing but crickets chirping. It couldn't happen. It shouldn't happen. It mustn't happen. Legend had it that if it did happen, rocks would crumble from their foundations, birds would sprout fins and gravy would rain from the sky (and by "legend," we mean off-handed remarks from Amethyst).

...and yet none of these things came to pass. This didn't make the moment any less jaw-dropping because, regardless, it happened: Pearl ate something. She turned around to join Garnet, who hid her expression well behind her trendy shades.

"It's been a long day," said Pearl, "Let's go home."

Steven had so many questions to ask but, per usual, he left the questions on the back burner and put off knowing the truth, at least for a little longer. What he did understand was that the gembryo was no longer a threat to the community and that it was contained.

Connie pushed her way through the crowd and managed to find Steven.

"Steven!" she called.

Steven was startled by this sudden meeting. He was so busy trying to give his input to Pearl that he didn't bother looking through the crowd for any familiar faces.

"There you are! I saw you talking with Pearl before she confronted the unborn gem! Why did she-"

"I don't know!" said Steven, "I completely clueless. I just told her to talk down the gem and it was her idea to do the next step."

Garnet picked the unconscious Amethyst off the ground and carried her back up to the street. The fight was over and all was good… or at least it was better than it was before.

Connie joined Steven and the gems back at the temple, where they waited patiently by Steven's bed for Amethyst to wake up. They saw twitches and heard slight groaning from her so they figured that they didn't need to wait long.

"Maybe it'll happen faster if I apply a bit more spit," said Steven. He gathered the saliva into the center of his mouth and spit the largest wad he could into the palm of his hand. He then rubbed his healing spit onto Amethyst's gemstone, which was still a little tarnished from the battle. Within seconds, the spit worked its literal magic and her gemstone glistened again. Amethyst stirred a bit from her sleep before slowly opening her eyes.

"Ull… what happened?" she asked. She was too out of it to even rub her eyes.

Steven couldn't contain his excitement and gave as much information as he could in the shortest amount of time.

"Oh my gosh!" he said, "We fought the gembryo and then Pearl talked down to it and then when it got small enough, she swallowed it and-"

"Wait, wait wait..." said Amethyst. Her state of disbelief energized her and she gained enough strength to sit up straight in bed. "Pearl… ate something? The same Pearl who hates eating food?"

"Erm… yes," said Connie.

"Aw, man!" Amethyst slapped her forehead and held her hand there. "I can't believe I missed it!"

"You know, I'm sure somebody in the crowd took a picture or video of it with their phone."

"It's not that. Me being unconscious during Pearl eating something means that I missed me some serious gravy rain! Please tell me you got some in a bucket."

"No, I'm afraid that never came to pass," said Steven.

"Aww…"

"But we do get a sense of satisfaction in knowing that the growing gem won't bother us anymore!" said Connie.

"Yeah… we've been talking about whether to destroy it or let it live… and I guess Pearl destroyed it after all."

"Not quite..." said a sing-songy voice coming up the stairs. Pearl looked quite content and self-satisfied as she approached the bed. "Garnet, will you come up here? I have something to tell everybody."

Once Garnet made her way up the stairs (which she managed to do quietly despite her size and weight), Pearl sat on the bed and looked around at everybody with a warm smile as if she were a kindergarten teacher saying good morning to her class.

"I didn't destroy the gembryo," she announced.

"But we saw you swallow it," said Connie, "It can't possibly survive your stomach acid."

"Well… after swallowing the gembryo, I did some internal shape-shifting of my own." Pearl then looked down at her stomach and lightly rubbed it. "Instead of destroying her, have decided to grow her inside my body in much in the same way that a female human grows a child inside _her_ body."

Steven felt a shiver going up his back. He looked around and saw that everyone else's reaction was no different than his. This day was just filled with moments of awkward silence as more and more surprises were being revealed. Even Garnet was showing some emotion since her mouth hung open a bit. Was Pearl serious about this?

"Since I've largely gotten over Rose's death, I've had time to think about what kind of person she was from the an objective standpoint. She cared about the different life forms on this planet and was sympathetic toward the humans. The same couldn't be said about me. I mostly took up her cause because I would do anything and everything for her. The reason she decided to grow a baby inside of her was so that she could experience childbirth and so she could live the life of a human being. The reason I'm doing it is so that I could understand the human condition a bit more and maybe have a bit more empathy toward them. For all we know, this experience could very well drive me to protect the human race more than I do now."

Pearl had some very good reasoning but this information was a lot to handle. Pearl looked so content and calm but Steven wanted to withdraw inside of himself.

"So… you're pregnant," said Amethyst. She clutched the bedsheets and became visibly uncomfortable by this prospect.

"Yes," said Pearl.

"Are you nuts?! That's the thing that tried to destroy everything and tried to suck the life out of me! And you want to let it keep growing?!"

"Amethyst, pearls are normally competitive in the face of other pearls but deep down, I felt the same way as Steven. I didn't want to destroy a fellow pearl." She looked down at her stomach once more. "Once she is born, you guys can teach her about The Earth and its importance. If all goes well, she will be assimilated into the Crystal Gems just like Steven."

Just like Steven. Those words should have brought comfort to Steven but they stung and throbbed a little.

"I have to admit, Pearl, that is pretty crafty," said Garnet, "We'll just have to see whether it will work. Either way, gaining a new member will be a big step up for us."

"Believe me, it's a decision that I didn't take lightly," said Pearl, "but having the gem develop inside of me would take the burden off of this planet."

"Congratulations, Pearl!" said Connie. She hugged her sword fighting teacher since she had known the space alien long enough to feel comfortable doing that.

"Yes, that's… that's great," said Steven feigning a smile of his own.

Steven's mind started to become clouded with feelings of regret. Pearl loved Rose. Of all the thousands of years in which those two lived, the sixteen years that Rose had been gone were just a blip. The two years in which Steven had known Connie were ones that had all these amazing experiences and it didn't feel like she was going to go anywhere anytime soon even though she would enter high school next month. In fact, he was having so much fun with her that he never actually noticed how much she changed physically and mentally even if he stayed in the body of a ten-year-old that entire time. Considering how he would feel if Connie were to disappear after two wonderful years, he couldn't imagine how he would feel if she were to disappear after knowing her for a hundred years or a thousand or a million. There was no way Pearl could have gotten over Rose that quickly.

Pearl said that she wanted to experience what Rose experienced, which meant that she wanted to sacrifice herself as well. She was going to give up her form for this new gem and everyone around Steven was only pretending to be happy. Being ironic was the in-thing right now, wasn't it? Steven suddenly felt heavy in the soul. He didn't want this outcome at all.


	11. Corinthia Takes the Cake

On the day of the Ichthyos V fleet's departure, Corinthia was much more cautious and aware of her surroundings than usual. The giant digital clock near the terminal area of Bivalve V read 11:15. She just had to hold out for forty-five more minutes before she could leave this space station. Good riddance to all those who either pretended she didn't exist or made fun of her. She could try again with making new friends, although she had to admit, she was sort of friends with Laertes. Being someone's respectable work partner tended to do that after a while. It was difficult to hop while she was carrying her heavy suitcase.

"That's all you're taking?" asked Laertes, "One suitcase?"

"I don't have much to bring with me," said Corinthia while huffing and puffing, "I never formed many attachments on this spaceship."

The two found two comfortable chairs in the large waiting area, where they were surrounded by others who had all their belongings already on the ship. There were Liquidians who, like Corinthia, only had the clothes on their backs. These were her kind of people.

"Laertes, my man!" said an excited voice. Coming down the row of chairs was a certain familiar three-foot-tall fish person wearing business casual clothing and a top hat, a style that was uniquely his. His face was just as vibrant blue and orange-speckled as always, just as loud as his personality. This day was halfway decent until he showed up.

"Ho boy," said Corinthia in as unexcited of a tone as possible, "Benton's here."

"You do know that he can hear you, right?" asked Laertes.

"I know that very well. And he knows very well that I'm annoyed by all the pranks he's played on me since day one. So, no, I don't need to whisper."

"You gotta admit, I got you good with that pistol shrimp costume," said Benton.

Corinthia liked art. She liked anything that expressed people's love, fear, happiness, anger and worry in a format other than facial expressions. She would have appreciated the artistic talent of this particular fish person if it didn't cause her to sully the front of her dress with coffee.

Laertes leaned down and whispered to Corinthia.

"Don't let him get to you," he said, "You know how those tropical types are."

"Aren't you one of those tropical types?" asked Corinthia.

"I prefer not to think of myself as one."

"C'mooooooon, Cori. Why you down today? I've come to get you guys for the goodbye party!"

"There's a goodbye party?" asked Laertes.

"Of course! We'd be pretty heartless if we didn't acknowledge your year-long trip with cake. Now come on!"

Corinthia didn't want this day to head in a direction that was unplanned. She mostly looked forward to a quiet morning of waiting… waiting and not getting caught. She looked around the enormous waiting area: people, people and more people. And exceptionally tall indoor plants to give the place a welcoming flare. There was a mother eel whose child kept gumming her, a seal solving a puzzle on his Game Buddy and an elderly sea turtle man who looked like he had known a trilobite or two. Fortunately, there were no tall women with pearls on their bodies.

Laertes and Corinthia followed Benton to the other side of the waiting area, where they reached a series of elevators. Once one of them became available for going down, it opened quietly and graciously for them and they stepped on.

As soon as Laertes pressed the button and the doors closed, Benton decided to dish out what he had in store for the event.

"Oh man, you guys," he said, "You have to hear my plans for this gathering. You're going to be the only ones to know."

Corinthia was not exactly amused at the prospect of Benton fooling other people but was polite enough to permit him to continue the conversation. She sighed.

"What do you have in store this time, Benton?" she asked.

"I had the chiefs bake the cake so that there is a hollow space in the center of it. I'm going to squeeze into that hollow space and once the cake is cut, I will pop out!"

Laertes chuckled. "That sounds like a pretty good send-off to your friends."

Corinthia didn't think so. She would have preferred an intact cake and a non-messy table. But she figured that it was better that she was learning about the surprise ahead of time.

"So where is this party being held?" asked Corinthia.

"At the Bubbles Cafe," said Benton.

Corinthia felt a shiver go up her blobby body. "You don't mean the one on Floor 5A, do you?"

"The one and only!"

Corinthia gasped. Her plan to avoid the area where the pearls would capture her would fail tremendously through traveling this road of sudden events that she veered onto. A crazy turn of events required something equally crazy. At this point, she had calmed down and collected herself… although at this point, she found it difficult to say the next sentence with a straight face.

"Benton," she said

"Yeah?" asked the fish man. He moved his head in her direction since he was unable to move his pupils.

"I want to hide with you in the cake."

Benton's circular eyes couldn't become wider than they already were but Laertes' made his surprise visibly known.

"Erm… Corinthia?" said Laertes.

"You heard me. I want to hide in the cake."

Benton's surprise turned to delight. "Looks like we have another party animal here! The more the merrier!"

So far, this was the best plan that Corinthia could think up. With her outfit, it would be impossible to hide in the crowd for long.

Once they stepped off the elevator, they walked down a different hallway and made sure not to walk past the front of the cafe. They eventually came to a gray door, which was plain and uninviting, unlike the front of the cafe. Benton knocked on the door, which made a metal sound with only a slight echo.

The door opened in the same way that any door on a spaceship would, I. e., it withdrew each half into the wall while making a suctioning noise. In the doorway stood a delighted-looking eel man with arms (no legs, though) and a chef's outfit.

"Why, hello!" he said in a flamboyant, musical tone. Out of his excitement, he generated light and sparks.

Corinthia withdrew into her shell to avoid the shocking shower, although she did admit that it looked pretty.

"Hey, Clyde!" said Benton, almost as excitingly, "My man!"

Corinthia thought to herself, "Are all people this man's 'man?' What does that term even mean?"

"We spent all morning baking the cake and it is ready for your big surprise," said Clyde. This time, he was smart enough to make his voice a little lower.

When Clyde moved out of the doorway, the three sea creatures stepped into the kitchen, which was shiny and modern. These creatures had moved on beyond the classic fire-heating technique of their ancestors; the stoves around them heated food using electricity coming from plasma-based resources. The other chefs ran around the kitchen stirring this and checking on that and making sure those things didn't emit too much smoke.

"We baked this cake in layers and made sure to make the bottom half hollow, although this was no easy feat. We used the help of a balloon, which was inspired by our very own Todd!"

A thin puffer fish in a chef's outfit smiled and gave a thumb's up at the mention of this little detail.

"Yes, he's very proud of that fact. Just don't startle him too much."

"I know that this surprise is coming, so I won't be startled," boasted Todd.

They arrived at the large, most decadent creation: a three-layered cake that easily exceeded the height of any adult of any of the sea creature races. Its layers grew bigger as it reached the bottom and it looked like it could easily be climbed if it were made out of a harder material. It was decorated with light pink frosting and intricate, lacy blue trimming. The words, "Good Luck and We'll Miss You!" were writing on the middle layer. The chef led them to the back of the cake where there was an empty space that had been hollowed out in the bottom layer. Now, Corinthia could see the insides of the cake, which were bluish-green from the kelp flour.

"It's amazing that it can still stand on its own," said Laertes.

"It should be enough to fit both of us," said Benton as he looked down at Corinthia.

The cake looked so good and smelled so vanilla-ey sweet. Corinthia couldn't stop thinking about having the willpower to not eat any of the cake herself.

"Once you're inside, this sheet of paper should cover the inside of the compartment just fine," said Clyde the Head Chef.

Ah, yes, paper. Corinthia could still remember a time when this material was being used by the land-dwellers of Liquidia for writing things down. Now that the pearls came with their more advanced technology, this is what the once-mighty paper has been reduced to: concealing what needed to be concealed.

Benton and Corinthia crawled into the cake and were handed the sheet of pink paper so that the otherwise-noticeable square space could be blocked. Corinthia was surprised to see that there was more than enough room for both her and Benton, although this also meant that there wasn't going to be much cake for everybody.

Soon, the cake started being wheeled out of the kitchen. There was something distressing about being moved by someone and not seeing where one's vehicle of choice was going (if anyone were to call a cake a vehicle).

"OK..." whispered Benton, who managed to squeeze in despite wearing his top hat, "Once the knife begins to cut the cake, I pop out from one side of the knife while you pop out of the other. Don't want anybody getting hurt."

"Yeah, about that..." said Corinthia.

"You can't change your mind now! You're already in the cake!"

"I'm in the cake but I'm not going to be jumping out with you."

The two were close enough together in this confined space that shadows obscured most details about them but Corinthia still noticed the look of confusion on Benton's face. "Er… why?"

"I'm hiding from people. You see..."

Suddenly, a wave of cheers came. The cake had arrived at the cafe, where people were astounded at the sheer scope of it, completely unaware that most of it was hollow. Corinthia and Benton then stopped moving.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said an announcer, "What we have here is a culinary feat as big as this day! We are here to celebrate the last fleet that will be going to Ichthyos V! Before we cut into this cake, we would like to thank Chef Clyde and the other workers of Bubbles Cafe Kitchen!"

Benton was looking up with determined eyes, getting ready to leap, something that his species was particularly good at doing from the depths of water. He was prepared to bring life to a room already full of it. Corinthia, on the other hand, was ready to retreat into her shell, prepared to ignore anybody who noticed her within the cake. Her breathing was heavy. Her heart pushed itself in and out like a juice cap. Was she nervous? Of course. She didn't know of any creature that could predict anything with absolute certainty. For all she knew, the worst could happen. So yes, she was certainly nervous. But was she scared? Of course not. In her mind, she was never scared, only on high alert. That was different… right?

"And now, I present to you, the special guest who will have the honor of cutting the cake… White Pearl!"

Corinthia felt a jolt go up her body as she was squished inside her shell.

"Benton!" she whispered.

"Yeah?" asked Benton.

"You never told me that any of the pearls were here!"

"I didn't think it mattered. Why does it matter to you?"

At this point, Corinthia felt trapped and needed a way to end the conversation faster; she had to book it. "There's no time to explain! We have to abort this mission!"

With all the might in her little body, she forced herself, shell and all, through the cake and out into the cafe.

 _Plosh!_

The sea creature people all around her, dressed in business casual clothing, reacted with gasps and awe. Todd the puffer fish had the most unique of all the reactions: within seconds of being startled, he puffed up to five times his size, violently pushing aside the chefs that were lined up next to him.

"I was not expecting that," he said as best he could with his cheeks swollen.

"There's that brat!" said Black Pearl, "Let's get her!"

At first, Corinthia was too discombobulated from making her way into this public space. She hopped through the crowd of people, scrambling for the exit since she was not tall enough to get an idea of where it could be. As she made her way through the people, she spotted White Pearl with a decorative pastry knife that she was about to use to cut the cake. Within that glimpse, she saw Black Pearl grab the knife from White's hand and wield it, teeth born like a primal beast. By this point, Corinthia found the exit to the cafe and made her way back into the hallway.

Corinthia was still covered in cake but decided to clean herself by letting it fly off of her since aesthetics were the least of her worries. As she made her way down the hallway, she noticed that Benton had been running beside her. This man was the type to shmooze with people at any large event. She felt both confused and loved that this prankster cared about her enough to join her in her crazy adventures as a runaway. Soon enough, Laertes caught up to them, although he wasn't the fastest runner.

Soon, they got to an elevator that was in the process of closing. The shark woman made sure to move out of the way as the three of them made it right before the elevator door could close too far. Fortunately for them, Black Pearl and White Pearl had gotten lost in the crowd as well and didn't make it out of the cafe until that point. Once Corinthia and Benton saw them in the hallway, Benton pressed the elevator door close button repeatedly. Doing so did not make the door close any faster but it certainly gave the illusion of it.

It felt like the longest two seconds in the history of the universe but the door eventually closed and the elevator started its ascent. Good. Corinthia could get a break from this craziness and explain herself.

"Okay, I think it's time to bring up the narwhal in the room," said Benton, much calmer than usual, "Why are you running from those two pearls?"

Corinthia shook off whichever awkwardness came with explaining her unorthodox viewpoint (and there certainly was some) and told the colorful fish man all about it.

"Gold Pearl and her cronies want the pearl that is inside my body. Apparently, it's a rare one with a much sought after power."

"Keep in mind that Corinthia's viewpoints are hers and hers alone and that I am in no way affiliated with anything that comes out of her mouth," said Laertes.

"I think you've been working in television for too long," said Benton. He then looked back down at Corinthia. "Anyway… What's so bad about having a rare pearl? Something like that should make you feel pretty special in the eyes of everyone."

"But that's the thing… I would feel special for reasons that I largely disagree with. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great that pinctas have a higher social standing than before but I don't want them exploiting my power for their gain."

Benton cleared his throat. "Well… it does feel wrong that they're doing this to you without your consent."

"I mean… if they're the goddesses they say they are, then why don't they create my pearl out of thin air?"

"You know them goddesses, Corie… they work in mysterious ways."

Corinthia hated that copout. She felt like everyone used that explanation instead of simply admitting that these "goddesses" can't do everything.

Soon, they hit a jagged stop with the elevator and they finally arrived at the floor with the spaceship terminals. When the door opened, there were people walking and standing in the hallway, doing all manner of things before they boarded their respective ships.

Corinthia hopped out of the elevator, feeling ready to let her guard down.

"Elevators should be faster than stairs," she said, "So we should have plenty of time to-" To her right, there was just enough clearing to discern the staircase and White Pearl and Black Pearl had arrived just in time. She also caught how they made it up so fast: White Pearl had used her flexible body and gymnastic skills to skip multiple steps. She landed feet-first after doing a flip and did not look winded in the slightest. In fact, she looked happily determined, which contrasted with Black Pearl, who, while still wielding her knife, looked maniacally determined.

"You spoke too soon..." said Laertes.

"Back to running!" said Corinthia. She was used to scheduling and rescheduling everything, so it wasn't the least bit surprising that she had treated her priorities outside of work as if they were on a suddenly-changing timetable.

The three of them made their way into the hallway. Never before had Corinthia had to bounce so hard and so fast. Each leap was one that she tried to outdo in length. She finally made her way to the terminal waiting area, where more people were concentrated, which meant that her chances of being found and caught were minimized greatly. However, like in the cafe, she had to make sure she didn't bump into other people.

She stopped for a brief second and looked behind her. Benton managed to catch up to her while using his fin-like hand to keep his top hat perched on his head. Laertes couldn't be seen but Corinthia figured that he would catch up.

It didn't bear explaining that they needed someplace to hide. Corinthia looked around; she spotted the boarding areas as potential exits but the ships weren't boarding yet.

"There!" said Benton, "The cargo hold! I've got some precious cargo to check up on!"

This time, Corinthia followed Benton to the area cluttered with suitcases and large objects that were much too big to fit in suitcases. These included refrigeration devices, furniture… and someone's various art installations. One of these was a clay sculpture consisting of a short, fat lump and a tall, skinny, S-like shape. Corinthia was sure that, to whichever artist did this, this work of art was a representation of something abstract and meaningful, like a look inside the mind of a troubled genius or a commentary on the state of the snail-farming industry. But she saw it as the perfect hiding place.

A little muskrat man was watching over the cargo when he spotted the pincta and the parrot fish rushing over.

"Hey, hey!" he said, "What are you doing?"

Laertes, who had finally caught up (thank goodness) looked at Corinthia and Benton.

"I'll take care of this," he said, "You two find a hiding spot."

Corinthia didn't question anything; she went on ahead and picked the bulbous part of the statue and lowered herself behind it. At this point, she had the instinctual urge to stay very, very still even if her pursuers were to find and recognize her. Benton wiggled his body in just the right way so that the curvy part of the statue obscured him. He made sure to take off his hat first.

After about eight seconds, Laertes joined them by hiding behind a collection of vases.

Black Pearl and White Pearl eventually came to the cargo area and started questioning.

"We're looking for a young female pincta, a male parrot fish with a tophat and a nervous phyco," said Black Pearl, "Have you seen them?"

"Oh, yes!" said the muskrat. There was some trembling in the sound of his voice. "I believe they went in the direction of the bathrooms!"

Corinthia spent the next thirty seconds listening to the sound of herself breathing. Keeping her breathing even managed to abate any feelings of anxiety or doubt. She had this. This was in the bag. This was what she kept telling herself.

Soon enough, the muskrat pushed the art pieces onto a conveyer belt which led to the ship's cargo hold. Everything went dark and when she looked to her side, she saw the terminal area disappear along with any feelings of vulnerability. When she looked to her other side, she spotted Benton, who was shaking and teetering from having to remain in his position for so long.

When they arrived in the cargo hold, there were more workers to help arrange the objects so that they wouldn't end up in a messy pile. Corinthia remained still and quiet for a bit longer since these workers had no idea why these people were sneaking aboard in this manner nor did the three of them want to make up any colorful lie about it.

The minutes ticked by and soon, that massive door that led to the cargo hold shut, enveloping darkness onto the many objects in that large, echoing space. Corinthia felt safe enough to speak again. Even better: she felt safe enough to speak in her normal voice since nobody else was in there.

"What did you tell that man?" she asked Laertes.

"I told him where his brother was," he said.

"Where is his brother?"

"He's in prison at the moment. I told that man that I would try to break him out one of these days."

"That's a pretty big favor you'd be doing him," said Benton.

"He was so grateful that he told me that I didn't have to break him out. Me telling him the whereabouts of his brother was enough for him to do us the favor of helping us hide."

It was interesting that Laertes knew this vital information but then again, he was a journalist. Certain juicy details were reserved for people of this profession, even if he was only getting started in "proper" (i.e. non-tabloid-related) journalism. If only Corinthia could jump into his head and see how much this man knew… or if he was even telling the truth.

Corinthia could now stretch her blobby body and be herself again. Today was a tricky game and she won. Knowing that Gold Pearl and her cronies had other duties to stay behind for, Corinthia could finally start over. Her lone suitcase was still sitting in the waiting room, waiting for someone to take it to security, so she really was leaving everything behind and starting anew.

"There has to be a way to the main ship," she said. She hopped away and followed Laertes. After a few hops, she noticed Benton looking around the cargo as best he could in what little light there was. "Are you coming, Benton?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, "Sure. There's just an important piece of luggage I'd like to check up on."

"Suit yourself." Corinthia continued on and left Benton to his task.

Benton pushed aside the suitcases and various large object until he came across a lavishly-decorated chest. It was a maroon-colored chest with gold trimming and a kelp plant painted near the lock.

"Bingo," he said. He took out a key and opened the chest. The lid did not have to open very far in order to reveal a shining red object that illuminated everything around it. Despite this, Benton did not avert his gaze. No, he spent that time taking as much in as he could. He watched as its outside glimmered and its inside pulsed and bubbled. "You're coming along quite well. We'll be on that planet soon enough."


	12. What to Expect When Pearl is Expecting

For the past day or so, Steven didn't say much. He wanted to feel happy, what with Pearl having a baby and The Crystal Gems receiving a new member of the team along with it. But this new member was just going to replace an old one. Steven would have to get used to this new member of the Crystal Gems in the same way that the other gems had to get used to him. Not only that, he would be joining the gems in the mourning of Pearl once she was to give up her form. He was getting a taste of his own medicine. In a way, it was fair… but it wasn't going to be easy.

That afternoon, Steven agreed to come to the mall with Pearl and Amethyst and even then, it was only because they agreed to take him to his favorite restaurant at the food court. While Pearl and Amethyst spent their time in the anchor store, he followed them, not uttering a word and generally not making himself known. He strove to be a real-life extra in the background. Although he didn't mind the perfume section (in fact, he rather liked some of the ones with flowery scents), he mostly felt like there was a blank space where his feelings were meant to go. All he could do was listen to the faint pop music playing on the speakers and the sounds of hard shoes on the linoleum. He also listened to the conversation that Pearl and Amethyst were having but they were just words to him, nothing that he felt like putting meaning to.

"Is this perfume seriously called 'McSexy?'" asked Pearl as she held a shiny, golden bottle decorated with a big 'M' on the front.

"Perfumes aren't known for their names, Pearl," said Amethyst, "They're known for their smells. Now try it out."

Pearl held the spray end of the bottle in front of her and pushed down the top. A spritz came out and both of them sniffed the air as much as they could. Pearl winced and stepped back while Amethyst swooned.

"Oh, man!" said Amethyst, "It smells like french fries!"

At this point, Steven decided that he had enough and didn't want the public to see him in this state. He decided to do what he did when he was younger and hide in one of the clothes racks. In some ways, it was for the same reasons: when he was a younger boy who would play pretend, he would shield himself from reality that he deemed to be dull. This time, he was shielding himself from a reality that haunted him and would continue to haunt him the more he knew about himself and others.

Only a little bit of light shown in between the hanging skirts and pants. He was smart enough to hide in the center of a rack that was not marked with sale items since not as many people came to take these items. Soon enough, Pearl had realized that he was missing.

"Steven?!" she called.

He heard her call his name several more times, each time hoping that she would be mislead in her ideas of where he could be.

Alas, Pearl was a smart cookie. Through reasons that were largely unknown to Steven, she eventually found him. She opened up the clothes rack, letting in light that Steven turned away from.

"Steven, is there something wrong?" she asked. She sounded so sweet and motherly when saying this that Steven almost couldn't resist speaking his mind… but he still held his feelings in. "Steven, I know there's something wrong. You're not playful like you used to be in these clothes racks."

Now, Steven couldn't help but have all of his words burst out of him to make up for the silence of that morning.

"Pearl, I don't want you to go!" he said. One by one, he felt tears dripping down his cheeks.

"Steven, what are you talking about?" asked Pearl.

"You don't have to do this!"

"Do what?" Pearl paused to think about what Steven meant. "Give birth to a gem? But Steven, I want to do this. This is my choice."

"Just because my mom gave up her form to create me doesn't meant that you have to!" Steven's breaths came out as shutters and he sniffed in order to retain the salty liquid that was seeping out of his nose.

"Steven, I'm not going to give up my form."

Pearl couldn't have been sincere when saying that. Rose Quartz had shown them what happened when a gem had a baby and all knowledge of gem pregnancy should be based on that… right? "Really?"

"Well… there's a very good chance that I won't give up my form. You know why Rose gave up _her_ form to make you, right?"

Steven was not one to ask questions so he relished the times when these unspoken questions were answered, even if he already knew part of the answer. "Because she wanted to be human."

"Yes, that is correct. But it was also because she was passing down her gem to you. Without her gem, she couldn't survive. The gem growing inside of me has a gem of her own already so I won't have to pass down mine."

Steven was still a little steeped in doubt but Pearl's explanation made sense to him. Soon enough, his tears subsided and his outlook became sunnier.

"You actually thought that I was going to kill myself?"

Steven nodded his head.

"Steven, I may be mired in misery sometimes but I would never take things that far. I love all of you too much to do that."

Steven managed to conjure a small smile before he tackled Pearl in a playful hug. Everything was going to be all right after all… at least as far as Pearl knew.

"Pearl, now that I'm not sad anymore, I can feel happy for you. You're going to be a mom… and I'm going to have a baby sister!"

"Erm… Steven… I'm afraid it's not going to work that way."

Steven let go of Pearl's body, feeling confused and pessimistic. "Why?"

"Gems don't start off as babies, Steven. When they're developing and attaining their light and magic, they are in a more compact nymph stage but when their development is complete and they are cut off from their primary source, they grow to their full size and functionality. Also, you're not going to be her brother because that would assume that you're genetically related to her, which you're not. In fact, I won't even be related to her. All I'm doing is using my body to incubate..." Pearl stopped once she saw Steven's saddened face. "All right… you can call yourself her brother if you want to. You will be living with her after all."

Steven's smile grew back to its previous size and he hugged Pearl again. "You're gonna be a mom!" He then sniffed the air, detecting a hint of fried potatoes on Pearl's skin. "... _and_ you smell like french fries! Today is a good day!"

Steven was glad that his moment of guilt and uncertainty were over. For the first few weeks of Pearl's pregnancy was chock full of surprises. Here are just a few…

One sunny afternoon, Pearl was sitting at the counter with her legs crossed. She spent that time tapping her fingers, her big, nervous ovals that she called eyes staring at nothing. Steven had come into the kitchen to quell the pangs of late afternoon hunger. All the while, he ignored Pearl as if she were a statue. He stopped everything once he heard the tap, tap, tapping that became just loud enough to be noticeable. He knew that it was bad for energy use but he left the refrigerator door to question it.

"Pearl, is there something wrong?" asked Steven.

Pearl didn't answer.

"Is there something wrong, Pearl?"

"Oh, nothing Steven."

Steven's dad had many wise things to say to them, one of them being, "If a woman says that nothing is wrong, everything is wrong."

"Pearl, I know there's something wrong," said Steven as he grabbed the milk. "You can tell me. I'll listen."

"All right…" said Pearl.

Amethyst nudged Steven out of the way and grabbed a pizza box from the fridge that still had some leftover slices in it.

"I'm pregnant and yet I have this uncomfortable hollow feeling in my midsection."

It took no time for Steven to figure out Pearl's problem.

"That's all?" he asked, "You're just hungry! We need to get some food in you."

Pearl was startled at the very idea. "Oh, no, no, no… I can't do that. Especially the last time I tried to eat. I still don't feel right putting some processed dead thing or byproduct of a dead thing into my body, I mean… ugh. I'm just going to sit here and wait it out until the feeling goes away."

"There's a faster way to make it go away," said Amethyst.

"Really? How?"

"By eating something! Only you would deny yourself these pleasures even when your body is begging you to have them. So go on… what do want to eat?"

Pearl stared at the box of pizza in Amethyst's hand and licked her lips. "I want pizza."

Steven did a double take.

"Really, Pearl?" he asked, "Garnet suggested that you start with something simple like a cheese log or oatmeal or..."

"Steven, _I want pizza_." Pearl bore her teeth, unwilling to stand for any more follow-up comments.

"All right, all right," said Amethyst, "No need to get testy."

Amethyst set the pizza box on the counter and opened it to reveal three slices of wrinkly, cold pizza: two cheese and one pepperoni. Pearl picked up one of the cheese slices and inspected it, seeing if she was sure she wanted to do this. She took a bite out of the slice and put her jaws to work. "Oh..." At that point, she perked up, feeling something that she had wasted so many years going out of her way to not feel. Once she was good and ready, she swallowed the lump of food.

"What do you think?" asked Steven.

Pearl's eyes looked straight ahead. Steven, like a careful nature documentarian, focused on what was going to happen next.

Something new had clearly awakened in Pearl because she proceeded to eat more of the pizza slice in an awkward and sloppy display. Amethyst smiled. What Steven saw was someone who clearly enjoyed the food but was also desperate to get rid of the biting, cavernous feeling within her.

"Be careful not to choke," said Steven. For once, he was being the mother figure.

Pearl stopped her gorging, already reaching the wide middle of the slice within less than two bites.

"Hmm..." she said.

"What?"

"Do you have any of that green stuff and yellow stuff that goes on hot dogs?"

"You mean relish and mustard?"

"Yes, those things!"

"Are you sure you want to do this? People normally don't eat those things on their pizza." Steven wanted confirmation on this because he wanted to spare Pearl from tasting something that she would go on to regret. After all, he wanted her to enjoy eating as much as the rest of the population.

"To the underworld with human culinary standards!" said Pearl, "There is nothing in nature stopping me from eating those things on pizza!"

"Right on, sister!" said Amethyst.

Steven went back to the fridge and grabbed the ketchup and mustard from the fridge door. As soon as he put them on the counter, Pearl wasted no time in applying them to the remainder of her first pizza slice. She didn't have much experience applying ketchup to anything so she didn't shake up the bottle first, causing a bit of clear, red water to drip out onto the cold cheese. Steven may have been hungry as well but not enough to eat something like this: something this unorthodox made him gag a little. Then again, gems were tough cookies who could withstand far more than a human could. Maybe that was it.

Pearl stuffed as much of the pizza slice as she could into her mouth, chewing and swallowing so fast that it was a wonder how she tasted this crazy concoction. In between bites, she hummed a little as if she were trying out (and rushing) the human habit of saying "mmm" when tasting something good.

"Oh my god, Pearl," said Amethyst, "You are officially my hero. I don't know what happened to the old Pearl but I hope you buried her deep."

A knocking was heard from the side of the screen door.

"Hey Shtewball!" said Greg. In his hand was Steven's ukelele.

Steven was relieved to receive something positive and predictable from this weirdness. He ran to the screen door and opened it with gusto.

"Hey, Dad!" he said.

"Got your ukelele back from the music guy," said Greg, "He tuned it and everything!" Greg then took a second to observe what was going on in the kitchen and he looked about as unprepared for what he saw as Steven and Amethyst were. "What's going on back there?"

Steven didn't feel like explaining very much about the situation. "Lots of things, Dad."

"Hey, Steven!" said Pearl with a mouth full of her second slice of cold pizza, "Do you have that chocolate almond spread you like to put on your toast?"

"I need to get my phone," said an excited Amethyst, "This is too good _not_ to record!"

One morning, Steven woke up to a beautiful sunny beach day. He meandered downstairs to get on his morning routine. This included certain bodily processes that organic life forms needed to perform as their contribution to the Circle of Life. He went into the bathroom, closed the door and pulled down his pajama pants, expecting the usual to happen.

Unfortunately, Pearl, who had come from the transporter, had her own contributions to the Circle of Life, ones that were far different but just as necessary, even if the reasons for that were beyond her. She barged through the bathroom door with her hand over her mouth.

Steven's shoulders stiffened at this turn of events and clang to the side of the toilet seat.

"Pearl, wha-" he said.

Before he could finish his question, Pearl coughed up a cascade of light brown mush all over his bare lap.

Needless to say, this morning, Steven didn't need to wash his face since this warm, wet and foul-smelling surprise woke him up just fine.

"Aww!" he said, "Eww!"

"Steven!" said Pearl, "I'm so sorry!"

Steven didn't appreciate this sudden turn of events but didn't feel like being angry at this point in the day. "It's all right, Pearl."

"It's just that there's only one bathroom in this house and I wanted to keep my room immaculate as usual and… oh..." Pearl clutched her stomach and braced herself for what else was about to arise from her throat.

"No, no, over the si-" said Steven.

The next wave of vomit shot onto Steven's pajama top, something that he felt rather than saw since he was wincing the entire time. When he looked down, he saw what amounted to the failed attempts of Pearl's tiny stomach to digest fruits, candies, bread, lunch meat… and maybe a fortune cookie? Combining all these colors should have made something beautiful but instead produced something horrific which dripped off the side of Steven's lap. These colors were not in uniform arches on top of one another but rather swirled into each other, making sickly browns and greens. Steven didn't know what the antithesis of a rainbow was but he was pretty sure he was looking at it.

"What's going on?!" asked Pearl, "Am I doing this eating thing right?!"

"Yes, Pearl," said Steven. He exhibited a level of patience that he had only seen in his father when he himself was a panicky mess. "You're eating perfectly. You're just not feeling so good, that's all."

Pearl breathed heavily while spitting into the sink.

"Oh… this feeling… I feel so icky..."

By now, Steven's patience had finally started to wane. " _You_ feel icky?"

Pearl continued to breathe heavily with a pained look on her face. "My stomach feels like Amethyst's room right now."

Steven once more looked down at the mess that was all over him. "It's almost as big as Amethyst's room, too!"

Pearl hiccuped. "Oh dear..."

At this point, there was no use in telling Pearl to do it over the sink since the contents of her stomach would fly out of her faster than she could comprehend. The remainder of those contents came out of her mouth in the form of a yellowish splash with clumps of corn and certain other bits that were hard to make out but most likely went well with corn. This was the sun shower that went along with this anti-rainbow but instead of feeling refreshing, it felt acidic and resentful, the physical manifestation of how Pearl felt toward certain people, such as Mayor Dewey and Steven's dad.

Pearl held her head over the sink, letting the rest of it drip from her lips.

"Is there anymore?" asked Steven.

Pearl took some more deep breaths.

"I think that's all," she said. She then looked at Steven and Steven made his unamused look where he scrunched his eyebrows together as much as possible. Pearl then started to smile as if she hadn't just gone through her own personal torture.

"Say, Steven..." she said, "How about I draw you a nice bath, Hmm?"

"Is this for eating those week-old bananas that I was saving for that bread?" asked Steven.

"How did you-"

"I can see it on my pajamas, Pearl."

Steven learned his lesson that day: Always lock the door when using the bathroom. He had the feeling that this was just the start of many lessons that he would learn.


	13. A Good Galactic Morning

Corinthia didn't need to worry about waking up at any particular time. She didn't need to resume her duties until she was to hop off of the spaceship, a moment which was still a long ways off. However, she was reminded of when daytime was supposed to be and the Info Screen next to her sleeping space would light up at this time. She perceived the brightness through her closed eyes and her closed shell. She opened both to look at the screen. This screen greeted her with a "Good Morning!" message along with a graphic of a shining sun. The date on the screen told her that it had been about two weeks since the ship had departed. Thinking that others would find out about her running away from Gold Pearl, she laid low in her cabin for all those days.

She looked toward the door of her cabin and saw that Laertes hadn't yet come by to pick up the glass of filtered water that had previously had last night's dinner of plankton in it. That man probably got caught up with doing something; all the better to venture out into the space ship. She was growing bored of reading all those articles on the Galacti-Web, most of which were laced with pro-pearl propaganda (in case you haven't had your alliteration for the day). She had to venture out for a little while.

She made sure to take her card key and map of the space ship before leaving. When the vacuum doors opened for her, she bounced into the hallway, which had fancy maroon carpeting. Instead of walls, there was a long window made of tough glass which acted as an eye gazing onward into the universe. Ahead of her was a swirling galaxy that had tinges of light purple tossed in with its millions of stars. It was moving at an incredibly slow pace but its blurred appearance made it seem like it was supposed to go faster from where Corinthia was looking at it. From where she was, she could see so many possibilities, so many new worlds that she didn't know about… so many worlds that the empire could potentially take.

Corinthia found her way to the dining area where so many sea creatures sat and ate their breakfasts. A huge buffet was set up with all sorts of breads, cakes, jams, syrups, eggs from various lower fish species, and cheeses made from walrus milk. The giant screen was broadcasting Empire 2, giving the masses their morning entertainment.

"Coming up next on 'Spoiled Brats on a New World...'" said the announcer, "...Kelly and Kimberly are still learning the ropes on Exodus I." The screen showed two female pinctas wearing neon clothing with heavy layers of makeup. Each of them looked overly disgusted with everything. The one in the green dress looked at a puddle with her paws on her waist.

"This planet is, like, so boring," she said, "There are, like, only single-celled organisms here."

The announcer continued, "...sometimes not realizing that they've entered forbidden territory!"

On the screen, the two pincta girls were seen in front of an estuary filled with glowing, shell-like pods. They looked up at a light blue pearl "goddess" with bushy hair and battle armor that was close to her skin color. She had pupil-less eyes and stood still like a statue. She gripped a fancy trident that stood just as straight as she did. The girls, on the other hand, did not tremble in her presence since she was just a mass-produced product.

"Look at this pearl, Kimberly," said Kelly, "Don't they program these things to have good taste in hair? It's like there's a shrub on her head… an un-manicured shrub!"

The pearl soldier responded by picking up her trident and slamming it back into the ground while glaring at the intruders. The two colorfully-dressed girls cowered and then hopped away. Interestingly enough, the cameraman was still brave enough to remain there and keep filming.

Corinthia decided that she had enough of what this channel called entertainment.

"They'll give any clueless rich girl a television show nowadays, won't they?" she said.

"If it's what the masses want..." said a friendly voice.

Corinthia looked behind her and spotted that colorful fish man with the top hat. It was early in the morning (or what the ship in the vast expanse of space outside of any star system called morning) but he still looked happy to see people. Corinthia felt assured and content at seeing him as well. He wasn't such a bad guy.

"Benton," she said, "I'm glad to see you here."

"Glad to see you here, too, girl. What have you been doing all these weeks?"

"Oh… nothing much… I've been hiding mostly."

"Well we need to get some food in you. Laertes is with me and so is another friend that I'd like you to meet."

After Corinthia grabbed the food of her choosing from the buffet, she followed Benton to his table, where Laertes was polishing off his breakfast shrimp (always a seahorse favorite) and toast. Next to him was none other than the elderly pincta that Corinthia had met offstage. She almost didn't recognize him since he wasn't wearing his jumpsuit.

"Jeevan?" she said.

Upon looking up from his meal, Jeevan was just as perked up as Corinthia was.

"Corinthia?" he asked.

"It's a small universe, isn't it?" said Benton.

"Jeevan!" said Corinthia, "I knew you would be on the ship but I didn't think I would find you this easily!"

"I didn't think I'd find you on this ship at all!" said Jeevan. His voice sounded just as tired as ever but at the same time it sounded sweet and loving like a grandfather.

"I didn't think I'd find me here, either." Corinthia scratched the back of her head and smiled bashfully. "This was a spur-of-the-moment thing having to do with my job."

"Well don't just stand there, have a seat."

Corinthia hopped onto her seat while miraculously keeping the contents of her tray in tact.

"Laertes has been telling me all about your assignment. The public is unaware of what goes on behind the scenes so this is a huge honor."

Corinthia wanted to feel congratulated until she remembered that it was Laertes who was going to partake in all the glory. Truthfully, she didn't know whether she would do anything more than do favors or make appointments.

She took a sip/filtered her glass of water filled with plankton before she contributed.

"I can't imagine it's any different than dealing with Gold Pearl, possibly even less of a big deal."

"Oh, yes," said Jeevan, "You have valuable first-hand experience. Maybe you can tell us about that."

Finally! She could spill her heart out now that the conversation begged for it. "Pearls are nothing more than fakes. The manufactured soldiers that we see in footage of other planets are unthinking and unfeeling, only responding to commands and how they're programmed. Meanwhile, the higher-ups are just like any spoiled brat who demands love and attention. If I meet any pearl with redeeming qualities, I'll eat my shell."

"It's not good to make assumptions, young lady. One of these days, you might bump into a pearl goddess who is kind and agreeable."

"That's what I like about you, Jeevan," said Benton as he rubbed the old man's head, "You believe in giving others a chance. By the way, those eggs could use a little salt." Benton handed Jeevan the salt shaker.

"I should watch my salt intake but sure, why not?" Jeevan shook the salt, only to dump the entire shaker onto the eggs. Jeevan looked disgusted at first but then smiled.

"Well played, young man."

"That's the oldest trick in the book," said Laertes.

"You're a nice guy, Benton, but sometimes I have a little trouble trusting you," said Corinthia.

"You know I would never let anything bad happen to you guys. Serious situations are not a good time for pranks."

"Well it's good to know that you have standards."

Benton looked side-to-side. For a brief second, Corinthia could have sworn that he cowered a little but she could have just been imagining things. She went back to enjoying her plankton with her water-filtering tongue.

Gold Pearl sat in her chair. Specifically, it was a chair that anyone at all could sit in provided that it was available but since she was so vain and entitled, it was, at the moment, her chair. In that room, sea creatures were working hard with the latest technology, doing their work under a plaque shaped like a giant magnifying glass speckled with little stars. She took little sips of her wine glass at a time, never letting it go for even a second, not that she had anywhere to put it.

A "ping" noise was heard on the small screen near where Gold Pearl was resting her left hand. When she touched the "open" button on the screen, it revealed various data points mixed with scientific terminology. Gold Pearl's eyes widened and she formed her first smile of the week.

"Your Grace," said one of the fish people, "We've gotten video footage back from this new planet. It most definitely has life on it."

"Life is one thing," said Gold Pearl to the trembling fish, "But what kind of life inhabits its surface? Is it advanced life or that of single-celled organisms?"

"It is sparsely populated by a race of primitive slug people. They will certainly not know what to make of our space crafts and they would almost certainly be easy to conquer."

Gold Pearl's smile grew bigger, revealing teeth that could be construed as being pointed. "If the telescopes sense movement on the surface, then I will assemble a new fleet and send them to this planet for further inspection. Oooh the prospect of finding new planets in this desolate universe to conquer is making me feel so bubbly and carefree! It's like I'm newly-manufactured again!" She then took another sip of her wine while realizing that her words made this fish person confused.

"Manufactured, Your Grace?" she asked, "You mean like the war machines we're making… or the soldier pearls?"

Luckily, Gold Pearl had a straight-forward answer to this question. "Oh, don't you know? Goddesses manufacture themselves. That's the only way they can be made."

"Oh… good that you cleared that up." The fish person stood there in several seconds of intense thought and walked back to her chair, scratching her head.

"Today is going to be a good day."

Black Pearl and White Pearl came into the room dressed in their scrubs. White Pearl had that same dumb smile on her face while Black Pearl looked just as unexcited about everything as ever.

"Your Grace, we have extracted the pearl that you wanted from the desired pincta's gaping stomach wound," said Black Pearl.

Gold Pearl looked to her side, expecting her henchwomen to walk to where she could see them instead of getting up herself.

"Present to me this pearl that you speak of," said Gold Pearl.

The women walked to where she was sitting. Black Pearl reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, slightly misshapen pearl. It was light pink in color and shined to the point where the color was even and not a speck was seen.

Gold Pearl took the pearl and held it between her thumb and index finger. She squinted as she inspected it. She rolled it between her thumb and finger several times before stating her opinion on the specimen. And that opinion came in the form of her hurling the pearl at the wall to the side of her chair. The pearl bounced off the wall, bounced once on the ground and rolled back to Goldie's chair. She then let out a wailing noise that startled every one of the Galaxy Scouters working at their computers.

"What was that?!" she asked.

"It was flawlessly shined until you threw it against the wall," said Black Pearl.

"No, no, no! This isn't the color that I wanted!"

"It was pink, wasn't it?" asked White Pearl.

"To the simple-minded like you, it may be. But it isn't the correct shade!" Gold Pearl sounded like the sternest teacher imaginable when saying this. "I understand your fumbling, White Pearl but Black Pearl, I'd think you would know better!"

Black Pearl rolled her eyes but otherwise did not change her facial expression at all when faced with Gold Pearl's irrational anger. "We are prototypes, you know… and so are you."

"Yes, Black Pearl." Gold Pearl ground her teeth. "...because goddesses are perfect on the first try." She then moved her head uncomfortably close to Black Pearl's face and lowered her tone to the quietest whisper. "...and we've discussed this before: No revealing our origins."

"What are you going to do, blackmail me?"

Gold Pearl sat back in her chair and twitched her nose. "This time spent making smart-alecky remarks is better spent looking for that color." She then projected a beam from her head with a holographic version of the light pink pearl she had in mind. This one was perfectly shaped and perfectly shined, nothing less for the great goddess. "This is what I want."

"It doesn't look that different from what we found."

"Well your brain isn't as trained as mine. Maybe then you, too, can create full-color holograms."

Black Pearl scrunched the side of her lip and snorted in annoyance. "Maybe if you allocated your resources to hunting down that girl instead of exploring a new planet, we'd get farther in this universe-conquering plan of ours, especially considering the purpose of that pearl."

"Did I ask you to give me advice on how to run an empire, Black Pearl?"

"No, you didn't."

Gold Pearl looked at her glass, which was almost empty. "Arg… this bubbling happiness serum isn't doing the trick. I need more."

"All-righty. Whitey and I will be going back to our duties."

"Yeah," said White Pearl, "Let's go pick stuff out of people's bodies like we did before."

"Eww."

Gold Pearl sat and stared at the Galaxy Scouters doing their work. She leaned down once she saw a pincta servent hopping over. He struggled to hold the wine bottle (which was almost his size) as he poured more into her glass.

"Building an empire is easy but everything will be worth it," she said. She took a long sniff of her wine, making sure the sweetness was detected by another sense besides her taste.


	14. A Part of Her World

Through the power of magical teleportation, Steven found himself in yet another place that was remarkably far from his home, not that he thought of it that way. He was in an ancient structure that was adorned with statues of gems that he had no knowledge of, nor did he feel like questioning their identities. Some of the statues were too broken apart from the forces of time anyway, a testament to how immortality doesn't transfer well to stone likenesses of those who are otherwise immortal. Part of this vast room was exposed to the elements and Steven felt cold wearing just his unitard and a headband but all that dancing was doing a good job of counteracting it.

He trained himself not to respond to twirls and jumps with dizziness. Indeed, ballet showcased all sorts of amazing things that Steven didn't know the human body was capable of. He had almost mastered the trick of keeping his head still for a brief second as his body spun until his head had no choice but to be tugged along with his body.

However, it would probably take ten thousand years for him to reach the expertise of his teacher/dancing partner Pearl. She was so flawless in her ballet dancing that it seemed like she had an invisible set of wings attached to her, carrying her in the wind and setting her down every so often. She managed to retain her grace, balance and mental clarity despite the noticeable bump in her abdomen. Steven wondered whether the growing gem inside of Pearl minded all this erratic movement on the part of her mother or if this would encourage her to become a dancer as well… or were pearls natural dancers?

Soon, he got to the point in his dance routine when he would dance close to Pearl. This would make him feel squeamish; he would almost stall before coming into any physical contact with her and he only recently figured out why. Coming into physical contact with Pearl made him harken back to the times when she was in dire need of a hug because she felt hopeless and useless. Sure, they hugged during the good times, such as when Steven completed a mission or excelled at his training, but coming into physical contact with Pearl during times when happiness didn't fill his mind made him feel cold and slimy, the opposite of a hug.

At the end of the practice, Steven was quick to grab his water bottle. He managed to ingest half of it even though by then, the water was lukewarm.

"You've made some good strides, Steven," said Pearl as she removed her headband. "I'm hoping that you can practice on your own since pretty soon, my own body won't be in shape for it."

"Are all pearls good at dancing? Maybe my big sister can teach me a few things."

"Dancing is probably something that we would have to teach her, just like how we're going to have to teach her how to be a crystal gem."

Steven looked down at Pearl's thin, dainty toes. He then looked down at his own toes, which were smaller and stubbier, much like the rest of his body. He flexed his toes to check their strength. Then, using all the strength in those toes, he lifted up the rest of his body and tried to balance himself on the tips of them. He felt intense pressure from them pressing into the hard, ancient floor. This wasn't as easy as cartoon characters made it seem when they were trying to sneak past someone. It wasn't as easy as other ballerinas made it seem for that matter.

He grunted a bit until Pearl noticed him.

"Steven, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Standing… on my… tippy toes..." said Steven.

"Why are you doing _that_?"

Steven grunted a little and held his position for a few more seconds before collapsing back onto his feet. "Because I want to be like you, Pearl."

Pearl smiled and giggled. There were times when Steven appreciated people being entertained by his efforts but this was not one of them.

"Steven," said Pearl, "I may be able to do that just fine on my own but humans need point shoes in order to stand on their toes like that."

"All right…" said Steven, "Can I get some point shoes?"

"Are you sure? Boy ballerinas don't wear point shoes unless they plan on playing an ugly stepsister."

Steven couldn't help but feel crushed by that reminder. Of course: He never saw ballerinos dancing on their tiptoes. That was just the way things were.

"But it's cool to be several inches taller, even for just a second. Why do girls get to have all the fun?"

"All right, Steven. You can try out point shoes on some future date. For now, let's just rest." Pearl yawned. "Trust me, I especially need it."

That afternoon, Steven relaxed on the internet and made sure to wear headphones when watching internet videos so that Pearl could sleep comfortably downstairs. Ever since her pregnancy started, her energy levels would drop at certain points, especially after vigorous activity. She never slept through the entire night. Rather, she would take scattered naps throughout the day and night and she normally chose to do them on the couch.

As Steven walked downstairs, he saw Pearl sleeping on her side with a blanket loosely covering her. She had one hand on her swollen belly and some drool seeping out of her mouth and onto her pillow. He noticed a beam of light coming out of Pearl's gem and trying to project itself onto something. It had blurry moving colors that were trying to become a moving picture but was failing in their attempt. It was making noises that sounded like two people walking but Steven wasn't sure; the sound was partly obscured by the sound of Pearl's snoring. This made Steven curious. He knew that peering into another person's dreams was an invasion of their privacy but he was desperate to understand his mentor since at times, she was just as secretive about her feelings as he was about his own.

Steven grabbed the nearest flat object – a book – a propped it up so that the projection would have a 2D surface on which it could properly be shown.

Now the picture was clear: A younger Pearl was walking with Rose Quartz through a valley of dried grass. The sky was purple and, along with the stars, the moon was in plain view. It didn't look like there was any other life form in the scene, at least not yet. It was a good thing Steven decided to do this since he was willing to pay close attention to anything that would give him insight on his mother.

In the scene, Pearl was clearly tired; her hair was a mess, her armor was battered and her back was not entirely straight. But from the way she looked up at Rose, she was willing to do anything for the quartz whom she pledged herself to. For that entire walk, they didn't speak a word but Pearl decided to break the silence.

"Rose?" she said.

"Yes, my pearl?" said Rose.

Steven felt an instant warmth go through him when hearing the voice of the woman he never met. He must have retained it in his subconscious even if he had forgotten everything else from his dark, secure days in the womb.

In the dream, Pearl blushed and stopped walking for a second. She was clearly feeling the same way even if it was for entirely different reasons.

"I just want you to know that..." Pearl tried to keep up but ended up stopping again.

It took about a dozen feet but Rose noticed and turned around. "Know what, Pearl?" She walked back to her fighting partner and looked down at her in anticipation.

"I just want you to know that… I like fighting by your side. After so long, I've been made to feel defective, like I was a mistake. But now that I'm with you, I feel like I've found my purpose." Pearl worked up a weak smile. "You're my purpose, Rose!"

Rose smiled and placed her hand on Pearl's shoulder. "Pearl, you're here for more than just assisting me. The reason you're a Crystal Gem is because we're both fighting for a the life forms of planet that we love." At that moment, a monarch butterfly landed on Rose's finger. It crawled around a bit, not minding that it had landed on a living illusion. Rose then turned around and kept walking, causing the butterfly to flutter into the air.

The delicate, colorful insect landed on Pearl's nose, causing her to jump back and shrug her shoulders.

"Ah!" she said. The butterfly mostly reacted by fluttering back into the air and going on its way, which was long and arduous if it wanted the closest source of nectar. It wasn't so much flying as it was gracefully falling and picking itself up again with each flap. "Yes… for the life forms." Pearl then picked up her pace before Rose had a chance to notice that she had once again stopped keeping up.

Steven was completely engrossed by the dream sequence. It was an authentic piece of the past, told in a way that couldn't do his father's storytelling justice (not that his father was there at the time of this flashback). This piece did have bits of dust – moments that skipped over or were not entirely clear in their visuals or sound. But Steven convinced himself that he had stumbled upon a treasure trove, thousands upon thousands of years of memories that Pearl had guarded. Of course, it was not so hard to guard them if nobody had ever asked about them in the first place.

Steven eventually came upon a part of the dream which grabbed his attention because it seemed like something out of big budget movie. Rose Quartz and Pearl were ambushed by what looked like a corrupted gem, one that appeared as a massive flying insect. The purple, six-legged monster vibrated the entire scene with its beating wings, a sound that was accompanied by its fierce roar. Pearl and Rose showed no signs of submission, though; they each stood on guard, back to back, paying attention to this creature's motives.

"Stay close, Pearl," said Rose.

Pearl took out her sword and bore her teeth. She was ready for anything.

The creature then started to spit tiny bolts of lightning, at which point, Pearl lept out of the way and Rose guarded herself with her shield. Since Rose's purpose was to defend in this situation, it was up to Pearl to stave off the creature with attacks. Once she approached the creature, she jumped up to its face while wielding her sword above her head. In one brave swoop, she scratched the creature, causing it to fly backwards and give out a mighty buzzing roar.

Since this method was working, Pearl continued to jump up and slash the corrupt gem, causing it to fly backwards some more in its distraction. After several times of doing this, it understood the pattern and grabbed Pearl the next time she jumped. Once it grasped Pearl, it roared in her face, showering her with tiny thunderbolts that were far more damaging than they initially looked. Steven couldn't stand to see younger Pearl wince and curl up in pain when she was already uncomfortable from the hideous creature squeezing her.

Rose came to the rescue when she pulled out her own sword and swiped the insect's arm, causing it to fall to the ground along with Pearl.

Pearl landed in Rose's arms, where her pained grimace turned into a relieved smile.

"Leave my pearl alone!" she said.

The creature did not leak any bodily fluids when the arm was severed. In fact, the arm sprouted anew, with its claw as strong as ever. When the creature tried to slash Rose with its claw, it was instead met with Rose's shield, a large version of the one that Steven could summon. This gave insight into how his shield would grow along with him… hopefully.

Rose tried to strike the corrupt gem with her large sword but kept missing. All the while, she guarded herself and Pearl with her shield. Pearl came out from the shield every so often to strike the creature with her own sword, which, for the most part, she succeeded in doing. But as quick as Pearl was to strike, those strikes were not having a significant effect on the creature. Likewise, Rose had stronger sword attacks but lacked the speed that Pearl had.

The creature then flew above the two gems. Before Pearl and Rose could figure out where it went, it shot a lightning bolt from its mouth, managing to hit both of them. Rose's shield failed to protect either of their bodies. Once the flashes stopped, Rose had toppled to the ground, still clutching her weapon. Pearl was weary while she struggled to pick herself up. Her armor was even more dented than before. As she looked up at the corrupt gem, her thin legs shook and her face spelled out a look that was situated on the border of hopeful and hopeless.

"I need to keep fighting" she said.

Rose grabbed Pearl's ankle.

"Pearl, what are you doing?" asked Rose.

"I need to protect you, Rose… it's my duty!"

"Pearl, I don't want you to use all your strength for my sake." Rose gathered herself and stood up. She held Pearl's hand, being mindful of how small and delicate Pearl's hand was. "This is our fight."

From the looks of it, Pearl was so comforted by Rose's touch that she started to move her feet rhythmically. As she held Rose's hand, she danced slowly, keeping her graceful form despite being battered and tarnished. Rose followed along, dancing face-to-face with Pearl in an improper circle. They danced to no music in particular but went along with the same beat.

The creature levitated and roared in confusion. Then, it stopped its wings and fell to the ground because something amazing was happening.

In two bursts of light, Rose and Pearl shed their outer forms and blended together. They grew and shape-shifted and, upon completion, a new gem emerged. It was Rainbow Quartz, but instead of the pastel-pink 1980's dance suit that Steven's father claimed she wore, she was dressed in glimmering armor that exposed her stomach so that Rose's gem was visible. Pearl's was visible from her forehead. Her white hair was tied into a single large braid that went down her back. This giant woman – this giant, gallant woman – stood ten feet tall with Rose's shield and Pearl's sword. The purple woman stood with her feet pointing in opposite directions, feet that had on ballet shoes that, in any other situation, would clash with battle armor but for reasons that Steven couldn't pinpoint, they went perfectly with the rest of the fusion.

Steven's jaw dropped. Rose was beautiful. Pearl was beautiful. Their relationship was beautiful. So there was absolutely no reason to expect the same of their fusion.

Rainbow's four eyes stared down at the creature until it decided to beat its wings and fly away.

But this wasn't over. Rainbow Quartz did not want to waste this opportunity so she chased after the corrupt gem. As she ran through the desolate valley, she took advantage of Pearl's speed. With each obstacle she came across, Rainbow lept over it like a deer, sometimes fitting in a twirl here and there. Steven almost didn't want this chase scene to stop.

Eventually, Rainbow Quartz caught the creature by one of its hind legs. She was strong enough to pummel it into the ground. The creature shots its lightning bolts at her, resulting in them bouncing off her armor. She slashed the creature with Rose's sword, doing more damage to it.

And then, finally, Rainbow took both her weapons and made them into a new one. Once the light of the sword and the shield crossed with one another, it revealed a gorgeous parasol that she spun around. But this was no ordinary fashion accessory; when the creature shot its lightning at her, she blocked it with the parasol, which was several times stronger than just Rose's shield alone. She also used her shield to counter-attack the creature with its own lightning bolts, an endeavor that proved successful when she held the parasol in the right place.

When the creature fell to the ground, Rainbow Quartz held down its body with her foot. For her final move, she closed the parasol and aimed its pointed end carefully. The tip of the weapon glowed like an ember before firing a thin yet intense beam at the creature's chest.

After the creature roared and writhed in pain, a puff of smoke enveloped it, revealing nothing more than its gem.

Once the smoke cleared, Rainbow bubbled the gem and sent it on its way. Now that she was out of harm's way, she stood there, looking at her arms, legs and torso. She felt her face, her four eyes, her hair neatly tied up. She looked at her weapon; the straightness of a sword combined with the rotundity of a shield. And when she took it all it, she smiled. Then she laughed heartily. Steven couldn't help but crack his own smile at this display.

The fusion ran into the field, leaping every so often and making a trail on the yellow grass that proclaimed, "Rainbow Quartz was here." This gem clearly had no hangups on her form, accepting it without a second thought. She eventually reached a hill that contained healthier grass with a greener hue which overlooked the valley before her. There, she continued to laugh and she threw her arms around her body in a self hug.

As she laughed, she fell to the ground and lay on her back as the grass brushed against her skin and the sky covered her entire body. Soon, in a puff of smoke, Rainbow Quartz disappeared and, in her place, Rose Quartz and Pearl wallowed in their euphoria.

Pearl stopped laughing to observe Rose as she started to calm down.

"Why are you laughing?" asked Pearl.

"I don't know," said Rose, "Why are _you_ laughing?"

Pearl sighed but it was a happy sigh. "I don't know, Rose… what I… we… just felt was amazing. Fusion is meant for fighting but what we did felt like so much more than that. You felt it, too. Do you know what it is?"

"If I'm not wrong, I think we felt love."

"Love? Do other gems feel that? Are they allowed to feel that?"

"Well, we're not on Home World anymore. We can feel whatever we want toward each other."

Rose and Pearl stared at the sky. The clouds moved at a faster pace than usual.

"Rose," said Pearl, "When we were fused, I was a part of your world. Can I be a part of your world forever?"

Rose closed her eyes.

"You don't need to ask, Pearl," she said, "It's pretty much implied."

At that point, Pearl's hologram shorted out as she fidgeted in her sleep. She managed to smile as well. It was nice seeing Pearl smile at the thought of Rose instead of feeling saddened by her loss.

What Steven saw provided more food for thought than he could swallow but he could at least chew a bit. A part of her world… Pearl was a part of Rose, creating something beautiful to combat the ugliness that came their way. And their promise was forever. With their long lifespans, gems had a better chance of fulfilling that promise than any human did but Rose was one of the few who couldn't. And here Steven was today, seeing his mentor as a family member but still too emotionally distant to dance close to her. He reached out to other gems in the past and talked things through with them but Pearl proved to be a difficult case.


	15. Long Live the Queen

Corinthia stared out the window from her tiny room. This was a day where she wanted to be close to a window – any window – as possible because some interesting things were about to happen. The countdown clock for the ship's arrival on Iktheos IV was nearing zero and the world in question was growing bigger and bigger as the ship neared closer to it. Corinthia had never seen another planet up close besides the one where she came from. This one was about eighty percent water with land masses that weren't so much masses as they were sandy swirls in the mysterious ocean. It looked like a perfect place for upright intelligent sea creatures to live.

Soon, a voice over the intercom boomed that everyone should go back to their cabins and buckle in as the ship is landing. Corinthia watched intently as the darkness of space made way to the blue sky of a planet with a suitable, livable atmosphere. Some turbulence was felt, which was to be expected. She started to see other people, who lived in tin houses by the bodies of water, along with massive factories that funneled their smoke underground in large metal tubes. These people had already settled in and, from the looks of it, were going about their day as if they were still on Liquidia. However, there was one notable difference: aquatic mammals were interacting with fish and shellfish as if they were their equals, a social norm that had existed on Bivalve V but something that Corinthia still was not quite used to.

Once the ship landed, Corinthia kept looking outside, watching as the ship's crew were unloading cargo and preparing for the passengers to exit. Corinthia figured that she should do what everyone else did at this time and gather up her carry-on luggage. She had only accumulated a few items from the journey, mostly toiletries and snacks. Her sensitive hearing picked up on conversations going on in the other room.

There was the voice of a little girl: "OK… I've got my stuffed starfish, my stuffed plankton, my stuffed anemone… all set, Mommy!"

There was the voice of a middle-aged man: "Sweetie, I've got everything."

...and a middle-aged woman: "Are you sure, George? Every time you say that, you always have to rush back and get something you forgot."

It made Corinthia feel less lonely hearing the voices of other families in the confines of a floor of the spaceship. It made it feel like they were a part of her family.

Corinthia was startled when she heard a knock on her cabin door.

"Knock knoooock," said a sing-songy voice.

Good old Benton was there with a pull-cart.

"Benton!" said Corinthia, "Are you as bored as I am?"

"Certainly," he said, "But people have to gather up all their stuff. I know I have."

He looked to his side, causing Corinthia to bounce over and look in the same direction. On the pull cart was a chest that was about the same size that she was. It was one of the most lavishly decorated chests she'd ever seen. She assumed that it was filled with some sort of family heirloom. After all, what else could it be? Nobody in their right mind would put clothes or toiletries into something like that.

"Do you need help with that?" she asked.

"Nah, I got it," said Benton. "I'll see you when you're off the ship." Benton pulled the cart with little effort. At times, Corinthia forgot that other races of sea creature people had strong legs and arms (or, in this case, strong arm and leg-like fins) to help them along. This was in contrast to Corinthia having no legs and stubby, pathetic excuses for arms with tiny claws at the end of them.

When Corinthia hopped off the ship, she was in a bit of a culture shock. The ship she had been on for the past few months had the advanced technology and luxuries that the pearls had arrived on Liquidia with. However, the planet of Iktheos IV did not have any of that. The smooth chrome inside the ship was replaced with steel buildings surrounded by sky. She could hear the sound of clanging, either from a person or a machine hitting a piece of metal. She heard a multitude of conversations welcoming others and asking about their trip.

Laertes came down with his luggage that consisted of products he had purchased on-board. The suitcase had gotten considerably heavy by that point, so he had to drag it down the walkway.

"Laertes!" said Corinthia, "It's good to be under a planet's sun again!"

Laertes sighed and wiped his forehead.

"I just want to see where our boarding is so I don't have to drag this around," he said.

"If you think yours is heavy, you should see Benton's," said Corinthia.

"Ah, yes. I saw him with that big, lovely chest of his. It's full of his tricks, I just know it, whether or not they'd work on this planet. Now c'mon… we only have a day or so before the ceremony starts. We musn't waste time preparing."

Corinthia knew that by "we," he meant "I." He was the one who had to look at his notes and practice his serious look for the camera. This meant that she could explore the new planet to her heart's content, or at least until it was time for the next meal.

When Corinthia felt that she had explored enough of the industrial town, she hopped over to a place that was already starting to fill up with people. It was a platform that was decorated with shell and leaf designs that were in a helix pattern that led to the center.

Jeevan was also taking a good look at it. He managed to hold on to a childlike sense of wonder while looking at the place where the ceremony would be held. In fact, everyone did.

One family of fish people had set up a blanket near the edge of the platform with a cooler full of food and some art supplies. The son was making a sign to hold up for the occasion.

"How does this look?" he asked. He held up his finished sign, which had "Welcome, Queen of Iktheos IV" written on it in bold, red letters.

"Very nice, Sweetie," said the mother, "But you should decorate it some more. That's what I brought the other colors for. You do want our new queen to see our creativity, don't you?"

When Corinthia approached Jeevan, she remained quiet, pretending that she wasn't there so that she could look at the decorated platform without anybody interrupting her. Once she saw enough, she let out a cough in an attempt to attract Jeevan's attention.

"Oh..." he said as he turned to his side, "I didn't notice you there, Corinthia."

"Imagine how crowded it's going to be tomorrow night," said Corinthia.

"But you're going to be front and center, Miss I'm-Assisting-a-Reporter."

Corinthia dashed Jeevan's expectations by deciding not to brag, even though he practically begged for it. It was a nice thing for him to do, she supposed. And, truth be told, she was not too excited about yet another obnoxious pearl being born. She just liked the idea of getting paid.

"So I stopped by to take a good look at The Pulverizer, which is right next to the Ceremonial Space."

"So what's it like? What do they pulverize, exactly?"

"Eh..."

Corinthia saw a glimmer of upset in the old pincta's eye.

"It's not exactly something that I would go into detail about. All that matters is that I'm there so there's no mess afterward."

Well, Jeevan at least saw his own worth in his day-to-day life even if Corinthia only saw a paycheck in hers.

Corinthia looked behind her and saw Benton standing outside of a steel fortress with his large, decorated trunk. He was talking to one of the abalone guards, which were encompassed in their own shells much like pinctas but were not at all cute and squishy. Sure, they were squishy under that shell but they were also about five feet tall and had glistening, white, bodies along with lumpy, angry-looking faces. Their strong arms held muskets that were to be fired at any trespasser who refused to listen to their commands.

With her strong hearing, she could make out the smooth, sly words that Benton was saying.

"So..." he said, "I know quite a few things about optimal pearl growing conditions and I figure that I should take a look at the queen-to-be."

"You don't look like the other pearl workers," said the abalone.

"That's because I'm off-duty at the moment. Here is my pearl farming license." He took out a hologram display and flashed a picture of himself along with some other information.

The abalone took a good look at the projection as he scratched his nonexistent chin.

"Yep, this looks legitimate," he said, "Right this way, good sir."

The abalone unlocked the sealed fortress and hopped inside, followed by Benton and his large chest.

Right away, Corinthia didn't believe that Benton was a certified tender of pearl beings. This had to be one of his tricks.

"What is that rascal doing over there?" asked Jeevan.

Corinthia didn't want to go into much detail, especially since the details were still lacking at this point.

"Oh, he's just up to his usual things," she said, "All I know is that he knows what he's doing."

Since Corinthia had not much else to do around this area, she decided to hop back to her living quarters and get some rest. She figured that the place wouldn't come alive until tomorrow…

...and she was absolutely correct. The area around the platform was alive with fish people, penguin people, turtle people, all kinds of people sitting around, standing around, awaiting for their new queen to emerge. As Corinthia followed Laertes over the hill, she saw how colorful the area became thanks to the masses. Soon, she would be just one of those specks, albeit one wearing a shimmering jumper.

"We mustn't make haste, dear Corinthia," said Laertes. Even in his hurried state, he managed to look dashing from the outfit he wore and the makeup job that he received.

"There shall be no haste-making, Laertes!" said Corinthia. She managed to think of that perfect reply even while she bounced ever faster to keep up with him.

They made their way through the excited crowd, being some of the few people who were allowed to push people away to get to the front. Corinthia had a clear view of the priestesses known as the delphi, dolphin people who wore flowing white robes. Three of them stood in a crescent formation around the center of the platform, holding out their flipper-hands as if they were embracing the sun.

Once Laertes and Corinthia were in front of a camera, Laertes continued to be his typically nervous self, obsessing over what perfection could be brought out into the situation.

"Is that a speck on the lens?" he asked, "I'm pretty sure it is."

The sounds of all the people were simply overwhelming to Corinthia's hearing but she kept still and endured it. One of the sounds that could be fished (no pun intended) out of the many voices was Benton. On his face was an awkward smile accompanied by snickering that he was trying to hold back. He partly accomplished this by placing his fin over his mouth. This puzzled Corinthia since nothing about this situation seemed remotely funny. In fact, it was, if anything, infuriating since another pearl was going to join the ranks of these insufferable "goddesses."

"You're on in three… two… one..." said the cameraman. He then pointed at Laertes as the light on his camera went on.

"Hello, citizens of the Pearl Empire," said Laertes in his cheery tone, "This is Laertes D'Naki and I am with you live at the awakening of the Queen of Iktheos IV. It is a beautiful day as any for the birth of the eternal ruler of a planet if I do say so myself. We are here with Head Scientist Jarky Skerfigs, who will discuss with us how they chose the pearl who would become queen..."

Corinthia kept looking around and noticed some more pearls at the edge of the platform, ones that were a shiny bronze color. Good. They weren't the ones who were after her. They were chatting with elegantly-dressed pinctas that were there to perform spiritual duties.

After the three delphi sang a lovely song, the Master of Ceremonies, a sharply-dressed octopus man, came onstage and announced the main event.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "Presenting our Pearls in Waiting, Bronze #336 and Bronze #45..."

The two pearls walked onstage in their dresses, which were decorated in the same manner as cakes, and hairstyles which were piled on their heads in a manner that was tasteful and well-contained. The audience cheered, giving out hollers and whistles as the ladies strutted their stuff.

Now, brace yourselves for the birth of our new queen, unvealed to us by Father Trummoe and The Queen's creator, Achilles Tarz."

The audience cheered again as a pincta dressed in indigo robes hopped onstage. One thing about this brave new empire was that, although the species were equal with one another, the positions of great importance were always given to the pinctas and the positions of greatest importance were always given to the pearls.

Following the priest was a large, light green male pincta who was about twice the size of a regular one and had a serious, tough-as-steel look on his face. He was muscular and appeared to love the attention that he was getting. Even the way he was hopping seem manlier than the average cute, cuddly oyster person.

The Master of Ceremonies passed the microphone to one of the bronze pearls.

"So happy to have all of you here today," said Bronze #45, "It had taken us days and much patience but we finally found the pincta who is honored to use his body to create the pearl that shall rule over us all. Among all of the ones that we have tested, Achilles has proven to be the strongest, most good-looking and all-around most interesting of the ones we looked over.

"Yeah!" blurted out Achilles as he pumped his muscles, "This day is all about _me_!"

There was silence after Achilles interrupted Bronze #45. Much like how Laertes couldn't possibly make his situation perfect, there was no way that the government could find a perfect specimen for pearl cultivation.

"Without further ado, we shall commence with the severing of the light."

All the while, through the quiet of the audience, Corinthia could hear snickering. Benton was close by in the audience with his cheeks tightened and a smile peering out of his mouth. He managed to get a few sour looks from those around him.

The priest, using all his might, pried open the clam shell. He revealed the contents of it, which caused the audience gasp and swoon. Inside the shell was a flash of light that took on the form of a curled-up infant with her eyes shut. The source of light and magic that was supporting her and contributing to her development was connected to the left side of her chest, where a red pearl shape could be made out through the blinding beams.

Bronze Pearl #336 took out a taser-like device that emitted its own light, this one being thin and green. She held onto the beam of light connected to the "baby" and held the light destabilizer against it, causing it to become weak and thin.

Benton couldn't stop snickering, although, bless his heart, he was trying. All the while, the audience was bracing itself for the grand moment when this planet would usher in a new leader and finally declare itself an entity of the Pearl Empire.

As soon as the chord of light was severed, something remarkable happened: The luminous "baby" started to grow very quickly. As it grew, its body became tall and waifish. Eventually, it outgrew its holding shell and the shell became its seat as the creature of light remained sitting the entire time.

As soon as the creature stopped growing, it also stopped glowing. And then she was revealed: A pearl with porcelain skin and bright red hair that was styled in loops. Her cheeks were lightly dusted with a red blush. Her dress, which came down to just below her knees, was also ribbony and festive. However, that color seemed macabre once Corinthia realized that it was the same shade of red as the blood of the mammalian people. Then again, it was no surprise that such a morbid thought could be invoked by looking at a member of a morbid race.

The pearl brushed a thin strand of her locks out of her face as if she had just stepped out of a flying aircraft with no roof. She looked to either side of her at the quiet audience, not knowing who to lock eyes with. The woman looked confused but happy. It was a bizarre thing to see someone who had just been born being happy but then Corinthia remembered that this woman was not born, she was created. The fact that she came into existance looking almost flawless was tantamount to how artificial she was, constructed and programmed by a team of scientists from a hardened growth from a plucky, young male. It was an odd miracle of science that a sentient being could be made this way.

As soon as the audience had a good look at the new pearl, they cheered and fired tiny, colorful explosives into the air.

The bronze pearl who spoke earlier held her open hands into the air to signal the audience to calm down. She approached the red pearl, who looked up at her with her red, almost-brown eyes.

"Stand up, My Lady," said Bronze #45.

Red Pearl got up out her her shell and stood up straight.

"State your title and name."

"Queen Red Pearl," said the pearl.

"We require you to take the necessary oath before beginning your duties." Bronze #45 took out a large, white rock that glimmered with pink and blue. "Please place both hands on the Coronation Opal.

Red Pearl did as Bronze said, placing one partially over the other.

Benton was still keeping himself from snickering and was gradually failing.

"From this day forward, do you promise to rule over the people and resources of Iktheos IV?"

"Yes," said Red Pearl quietly.

"From this day forward, do you promise to enforce the laws, rewarding the beneficent and punishing the wrong-doers?"

"Yes."

"And, finally, from this day forward, do you promise to contribute your superior genetics in order to create armies of red pearls for the furthering of our intergalactic empire?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now that the oaths have been taken, I now declare you Queen of this world!"

At this point, the audience roared and jumped up and down. They chanted, "Long live The Queen! Long live The Queen! Long live The Queen!"

Corinthia sat there silently and let the people of the planet have their joyous day. All the while, she noticed that Benton was anxiously escaping the crowd. Without letting Laertes know, she hopped away and tried to follow him, not knowing whether or not she would actually find the man.

But thankfully, her hearing helped her mentally dig through the noises of the crowd until she found Benton's unmistakable laughing. It led her to an alleyway a couple blocks from the ceremony. Benton placed his left fin against the building and laughed so hard it seemed like a wily spirit was about to purge itself from his body. Corinthia stood there silently, trying to figure out why exactly he found this whole serious debacle to be so entertaining.

"They fell for it!" he said, "All those people fell for it!"

"Fell for what?" asked Corinthia.

At that point, Benton gasped and froze. There was no way he could get out of explaining himself.


	16. Gems in the Woods

Pearl sat on the couch with her eyes closed. Her left hand held her smart phone with earbuds plugged in. Her right hand rested on her belly. As the music played for her, she closed her eyes and breathed rhythmically like she was her own ocean.

Steven sat down on the couch next to her and continued to play his hand-held console. When he reached a pausing point in his game, he looked to his side to see Pearl as she was serene and focused. He could hear a little bit of the music coming from her earbuds. He wasn't sure what song it was. All he knew was that it was a classical waltz piece. He looked at the little lump in Pearl's abdomen. He knew that life was brewing within her but from this distance, he couldn't tell that it was a life form, much less a meaningful one. After all, lumps were lumps and there was nothing particularly lifelike about them. He wanted some more evidence of the life within.

He laid down and rested his head on Pearl's stomach. He listened closely but couldn't hear anything.

"Steven, what are you up to?" asked Pearl.

"I'm listening for the new gem's heart beat," said Steven.

"Steven, gems don't have those. We don't need hearts to live."

"Really? It seems to me like you guys have the biggest hearts I know." Steven was half being cute and half being a suck-up. He looked up at Pearl, who was flattered enough to smile and laugh.

"You know, I really hope this new gem turns out like you."

Now, it was Steven's turn to be flattered.

However, before he could feel the warm fuzzies from the sentiment, Garnet appeared on the warp pad with some rather important news.

"We've found Peridot," she said.

Pearl adjusted herself by pushing her wrists to the couch cushion so she could sit up.

"You're kidding!" she said.

"I'm afraid not. She messaged me with her coordinates and she's interested in seeing us again."

Steven stood on the couch feeling like glitter entered his brain. He was finally going to see his angry little piece of pie after two years!

"Really?!" he said, "What is she up to? Did she say anything about me?!"

"She only gave me directions on where to find her. She wants to wait until we find her to give us whatever valuable information she has."

Steven jumped on the couch, unable to contain his giddiness.

"Steven, calm down," said Pearl, "You're acting as though two years is a long time to be away from someone."

Steven knew that the gems perceived time differently but still felt that this was a time of celebration, whether Peridot was away for two years or two hours. He stopped jumping on the couch but only to ask a question that he knew that Garnet could answer. "So… where is she?"

"The coordinates she gave me confirm that she is in The Appalachians."

"Ah..." said Amethyst as she descended the stairs, "Moonshine country, huh?"

"Don't get any ideas, Amethyst," said Pearl.

"Hey, just because _you_ can't drink doesn't mean you have to ruin it for the rest of us."

Steven grabbed his jacket and stepped onto the Warp Pad with the other gems. Before he knew it, he was not indoors anymore. He was now surrounded by chilly air and deciduous trees that were weeping their red, yellow and orange leaves. It was eerily quiet in this mountainous area except for the scurrying of squirrels and small birds on the leaf-covered ground.

This was a part of the woods where only animals trekked, so the paths that were there were small and narrow. There was underbrush blocking any way that they could go.

"I'll handle this," said Pearl. She circled her hands around her gem and, in a flash of light, summoned her thin sword. As she and Garnet lead the way, she swiped at the underbrush and kicked it aside to clear a path.

Steven wasn't sure where he was going but he trusted Garnet with the directions.

A half an hour passed and, for the entire time, Steven was in a haze. At this time of year, he at least didn't have to worry about getting sunburned or dehydrated, or at least not as easily. He had been walking so long that he had forgotten that he had brought an entire cheeseburger backpack full of games and survival gear.

"How much longer until we get to Peridot?" asked Steven. He didn't mean for it to come out as a whine but it did.

"I'm guessing it will be another hour of walking but I suppose we can rest for a bit," said Pearl.

And rest they did.

For Steven, this was a good time to venture to a quiet place and practice his ukelele. He then remembered that the vast swath of forest was quiet, so searching wasn't really necessary. It was more necessary to look for a place where he could take a break from Pearl. She loved him dearly but the insecurity he felt around her was too much for him to bear at the moment.

But no matter what, the ukelele never made judgments or made him feel inadequate or made demands of him. It was an instrument and he could do whatever he liked with it. Therefore, it was there to make him happy, no matter the time or place. Today, he was in a new environment with new surprises and the fact that these woods were so relaxing would make those surprises even more surprising. Between this and all the things he had gone through and was about to go through, including losing a community garden and gaining a new Crystal Gem member, he was in the mood to write a song.

...but nothing came to mind: No melody or lyrics. After years of writing songs on a whim, he was out of material to work with. He had already written a song about autumn, a song about losing things, a song about gaining things… what else was there? Instead of feeling bitter, he closed his eyes and paid attention to the beating of his heart. It was the only music there was for miles.

"Oh Steeeeveeeeen!" sang Amethyst.

Alas, Steven's heartbeat was no longer alone in its music-making. Amethyst barging into the scene could have good consequences or bad ones; it was just a role of the dice with this girl.

"Hey, Amethyst," said Steven.

"What are you doing way out here?"

"I'm trying to write a new song but I have writer's block."

"Why are you writing a new song right now? You've written plenty of songs. Why not just play a song that's already been written?"

"I suppose I should take a break from creativity… even if it's just a little one."

"In fact, I challenge you to a musical duel."

Steven was a little confused at this request. It was usually Holo-Pearl who had challenged him to duels. "But music is supposed to be fun, not competitive."

"Relax, Steven. 'Dueling' is just a part of the song title." Amethyst briefly showed off her light body as she transformed into a purple banjo with her gem located to the right of the strings on the banjo's body. Using her mind, she played some chords, giving a bit more of an authentic atmosphere to the Appalachian environment.

Aha! Steven knew this song! It was Dueling Banjos ( youtu .be/ _jBF1dcTlcM). The idea was to repeat back the chords she played at a slightly different octave, which he did. He didn't want to let her know that he knew this song because he wanted her to be impressed. As the song progressed, he continued to play his part on the ukelele when it came to his turn. But then, the fun part of the song came and he and Amethyst got to play their instruments wildly and simultaneously, the part of the song where things got "violent" (but fun).

Once the song finished, Amethyst didn't look like she even broke a sweat. Meanwhile, Steven's fingers were tired and he could actually feel calluses forming on them.

"Man..." said Amethyst as she transformed back to her regular self, "You knew that song like the back of your freaking hand! Sometimes I forget how old you are, buddy. I'm running out of things to teach you."

Steven distinctly remembered his father saying that to the gems when he was a plucky little kid. He remembered this happening at a turning point in his life, when he was leaving the comfort of his father's van and moving in with the gems to start his training. The future was starting to seem inviting… but the cautious side of him was aware that his gem training had taken scary turns and nearly cost him his life at certain points. What scary things were on the horizon for him this time around?

"Say..." said Amethyst, "I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"

"You're always hungry," said Steven, "And it's hard to tell if what you're feeling is truly hunger since you guys don't even need to eat."

"Either way, I'm still in the mood for chewing and swallowing something."

"I have snacks in my backpack, like..." Steven reached for his cheeseburger backpack and undid the back part of it, or rather, the hamburger bun. He rummaged around until her felt the zigzagged edge of an outer wrapper. "...energy bars. Those should keep us going. Let's see… I have Chocolate and Nuts, Vanilla Dream, Scrumptious Strawberry..."

"Those bars are good and all, but that should be for when we run out of food. What we should be doing is taking advantage of all the food that's around us."

Steven looked around the forest floor. He didn't see anything that looked appetizing or digestible by the human stomach. "You mean like nuts and berries? I don't see any. And besides, I don't know which ones aren't poisonous."

"Yeah, but do you know what's not poisonous?"

"What?"

"That squirrel over there." Amethyst pointed to a point off in the distances near a tree.

Steven thought that he had heard a rustling noise from somewhere. This gray squirrel, who was in the peak of health, was looking for a place to bury a nut. The beady-eyed animal carried on in his task, not expecting much out of this day. "You want to eat that squirrel?"

"Why not?"

"Why not? You'd have to kill it before you eat it!" Steven was terrified at this very idea. He was not one to resort to violence against a powerful alien race, so doing so against a small, innocent creature was especially out of the question.

"You eat animals all the time, Steven."

"Yeah, but someone else kills them."

"Don't you think it's about time you became self-sufficient in something like obtaining food? Creatures on planet earth kill other creatures in order to survive. Why not join them?"

Steven was not used to feeling peer pressure since he did not grow up around children his age. This conversation was stressing him out much more than it should.

"Here, I'll show you how it's done." In another flash of light, Amethyst shape-shifted into a purple panther and, unlike the Purple Puma, this one wasn't a renowned wrestler. She was sleek and shiny but didn't at all blend in to the forest. Steven marveled at how much she looked like the logo of a sport merchandise company but then remembered that she was about to do what wild cats did best.

"Really, Amethyst," said Steven with a quiver in his voice, "I'd much rather eat the energy bars."

But Panther Amethyst didn't listen. Instead, she crouched to the ground and inched closer to the squirrel, who still hadn't taken notice of her. When she came to a reasonable distance between her and the squirrel, she froze as if she had become ceramic.

All the while, Steven figured that Amethyst would become angry with him if he interfered by chasing the squirrel away. Or worse – Amethyst could accidentally attack him instead with little time to summon his shield to protect himself. He felt so very helpless right now.

In a quick burst, Amethyst pounced onto the squirrel, causing Steven to close his eyes and turn his head to the side. He couldn't see the carnage but he could hear the pained squeak that the squirrel let out before death grabbed it and refused to let go. When Steven opened his eyes, the squirrel's tail was sticking out of Amethyst's sharp teeth. In just a few chomps, she swallowed the rodent and completed her meal with a satisfied licking of the jowls.

Steven couldn't believe how quickly that squirrel went from being alive and well to disappearing off the face of the earth, leaving only a memory. His breathing became deep and his chest started to hurt.

"Man, that was fun and tasty!" said Amethyst. "Since I ate that one, do you want me to catch another one for you?"

"No!" said Steven, "I don't want you killing any more things! Crystal Gems aren't supposed to do that to things that aren't dangerous to The Earth!"

Amethyst's eyes widened in this realization but then relaxed once more. "Steven, it's just a single squirrel. The survival of the world doesn't depend on a single squirrel." She transformed back to her default form and walked back to the log where Steven was sitting. "You don't have to kill stuff right now. But just you wait, Steven. One of these days, something is going to happen where your hunger or passion or what-have-you is going to take you over and you're going to feel like hurting something. In the meantime, you can go back to your music-making. And defending people with your shield. You're pretty good at doing that."

As Amethyst walked away, Steven thought about what she said.

"That's ridiculous," he said, "I never want to resort to violence. I didn't do it when faced with The Cluster and I'm certainly not going to do it when faced with anything else." Then, he thought about how The Gems were normally the ones to physically fight _for_ him whenever something insisted on using brute force. When it came to defeating something like a corrupt gem, he was just one part of the victory equation.

But he was a part of a team. He didn't have to worry about fighting alone.

"Steven!" called Pearl's voice.

Without giving it much thought, Steven hopped off the log and ran back to where the Crystal Gems were.

"Yes, Pearl?" asked Steven once he arrived back at The Gems' resting place.

"I would like to ask you a favor, Steven," said Pearl.

"What is that?"

"I have to… er… drain myself of excess liquid and since Garnet is busy studying her map, and Amethyst is busy… Amethyst-ing..."

Meanwhile, Amethyst was off in the distance juggling a litter of baby raccoons.

"Doot-doo-doo," she sang, "Jugglin' some baby trash pandas, makin' the forest more entertainin'..."

The mama raccoon behind her snarled, her fur standing on end. She was awfully close to clawing the back of Amethyst's head and Amethyst was none the wiser.

"I'd stop her but then she wouldn't learn anything," said Pearl. "Anyway, do you think you can stand guard while I relieve myself in a secluded place?"

"Of course!" said Steven. He was normally not this excited to be in the vicinity of somebody peeing but this was the perfect time to bring up the dream he saw from Pearl's gem. He had many guesses about how she could respond to this; she could burst into tears at the mere reminder of this happy memory or she could praise Steven for living up to what his mother was or she could lambast him for intruding on the privacy of her thoughts. As the reincarnation of Rose, this was a good time to practice the role of future team leader, which no doubt included the role of mother/father figure.

When Pearl and Steven finally arrived at a rocky part of the forest with underbrush scattered about, Pearl picked a place behind one of the bushes and squatted. Steven turned around to scout the area and give Pearl privacy.

As he heard the noise of fluid trickling onto leaves, Steven decided to start up his conversation with some small talk.

"So..." he said, "I notice you're peeing a lot." In hindsight, this wasn't a good way to start off a conversation, although he was close enough to Pearl so that private subject matter like this could be discussed.

"Yes, I am," said Pearl, "Not only have I been eating more but I've been drinking more water as well, especially since Dr. Maheswaran told me I should."

Steven waited a bit, stalling on his question-asking until Pearl finally finished responding to the call of nature.

"That's better," she said. After standing up and pulling up her pants, she stepped over the underbrush and went on her way. As Steven followed her, he figured that now would be the time to ask the question.

"Hey, Pearl?" he asked.

"Yes, Steven?" asked Pearl.

"I saw you sleeping the other day and I-"

 _WHOOSH!_

At that moment, the conversation was jerked away by a monster that ambushed the two of them. It came out of seemingly nowhere; a corrupted gem that was a cross between a bear and a horned beetle exposed its grotesque, pointed teeth. There were only six of them in its gaping mouth but they were huge, the largest one almost as big as Steven. It was letting out a low, rumbling, engine-like growl that brought no feelings of security of comfort even though it reminded Steven of his father's van. Its mouth, its eyes, its stance, everything about the midnight-purple creature seemed hungry.

Steven and Pearl stood still. During times like this, Steven looked to Pearl to explain what to do. But judging by her wide eyes, her trembling legs and the droplet of sweat dripping down her face (an unusual sight in November), she didn't have the answers, either.

"This monster looks awfully angry," said Steven, "Shouldn't we fight?"

"Steven, I..." said Pearl, "I don't know if I'm in the physical condition to fight right now."


	17. Presenting the Truth

Corinthia sat in Benton's trailer, a place that was barricaded enough for secrets to be let out without having them escape to other's ears. It was a warm night but part of her warmth came from how cross she felt at that moment. As Benton practiced his juggling, she hummed to herself, trying not to unleash the inner warrior within her that she had repressed for all these years.

"Don't lash out," she thought, "You need to protect yourself. The best way to do this is to not get into trouble." She was an administrative assistant and administrative assistants were not meant to explode.

"Ruuuuuuuuh," she said as she exhaled.

Benton stopped his juggling. Corinthia's mood had no impact on him since he was still smiling from what he had told her.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Judging by what you just told me, you know darn well what's going on!"

"Calm down, Sugar..."

"Don't you dare 'Sugar' me!" said Corinthia through her toothless gums. "And how can I possibly calm down when you single-handedly tricked the entire planet?!"

"I know, right?" Benton continued his juggling but the balls kept bouncing to the floor. "What was I thinking, signing up to be an entertainer? Is it really that challenging to boost morale?"

"This isn't funny, Benton! You're not taking this seriously enough! You just tricked the entire planet into thinking that The Queen came from superior genetics!"

"Well, nobody's figured it out yet. This was my way of sticking it to those overladies. I don't like 'em either, you know. They simply don't know how to have fun."

"And to think that I saw you as a good-hearted friend, Benton. I knew deep down that there were ulterior motives in you getting chummy with Jeevan. How can you possibly do that to an old man like him?!"

"Uh..."

"You know what? I'm going to tell the Higher-Ups. I may not have told the Higher-Ups at the media company about the tricks you played on me but once I do this, you're going to get into a whole new type of trouble."

"The Higher-Ups? You mean like the ones that you're desperately trying to run from?"

An invisible hand slapped Corinthia back to reality and rationality. She was so focused on getting her childish form of vengeance that she didn't think through the consequences. Now that Benton was in trouble with the same people as Corinthia, all she could do was stay in this hole that was dug and wallow in this secret. She sighed.

"You're right," she said, "That would be really stupid of me. But in the meantime, I want you to tell Jeevan about what you did. That poor man deserves to know!"

Benton looked at the balls that he was juggling. Two were in his left flipper and were both blue. One was in his right flipper and was red.

"I don't know," he said, "How do you think Jeevan will take it?"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you took advantage of him."

"All right, all right. I'll tell the old man. I just want to practice my juggling first."

Corinthia scrunched her face into one of scorn as much as possible. She no longer felt like using words to express her point.

"All right, I'll tell him now. But you're coming with me. This is just as much your secret."

Corinthia and Benton made their way across the flat lands while their planet's sun was settling down to rest. The two moons watched them in the pinkish-purplish sky. The primeval planet, or at least this side of it, was settling down as well but certain creatures were still scattering about, such as slow-moving trilobite and crabs. The shore waters were so shallow where they were that it appeared as a giant puddle. On this evening, everything was strangely still. Even the ebb and flow of the tides, which varied greatly by thousands of feet depending on the time of day, were only gently licking the shore. The weather was humid, uncomfortably so, as if the colors around them were about to melt at any second. Despite this, Corinthia and Benton took their time moving across the damp and spongy sand, leaving traces of flipper feet and the print of a bottom shell that would last a good while in the current weather.

Corinthia's rage subsided. Most of those around her tended to hold grudges, especially about matters like this, but any negative feelings she had were quickly balanced. This didn't mean she was happy about the situation, it just meant that her mind was clear enough to live fully in the present and not think about how things could possibly go wrong.

Corinthia and Beton approached Jeevan's quaint cottage, which was located near the mouth of an enormous cave. It, and the other houses around it, were smaller than the stalactites that hung tooth-like nearby. Before Corinthia knocked on the door, she looked to her side. Over the course of the walk, Benton started to look more serious, not showing his usual smile. He rubbed his fin-hands as he waited. Unlike regular, non-person fish, his pupils were able to veer in other directions but this time, they stayed dead center.

After Corinthia knocked, it didn't take long for someone to answer.

Jeevan opened the door. The address was correct.

"Oh, Benton! Corinthia!" he said. There was a bit of a jarring tone to his voice, even if he intended to sound happy. "I wasn't expecting you at this hour!"

"We weren't expecting to come here, either," said Corinthia, "But Benton has something important to tell you… right, Benton?"

"Yes indeed," said Benton as he nodded.

"Well, come in," said Jeevan.

When Corinthia hopped inside, she noticed that the house was still cluttered with boxes of things; family heirlooms, photographs, trinkets of all kinds and other comforting knick-knacks. Some of them blocked areas that needed to be accessible, such as the kitchen sink and at least one of the windows. This cottage was filled to the brim with love, or at least traces of it, but this made the space look much smaller than it actually was.

"Don't mind the mess," said Jeevan, "I may keep things spotless at my place of work but I don't always take that home with me."

The entire place looked like a rediscovered temple of ancient goods, except while ancient goods had lost their meaning, these ones retained theirs. Corinthia wanted to rummage through these boxes and figure out the stories behind them but then remembered that they were still somebody's property. Laertes would do this. Corinthia had been around him long enough for his ideas to rub off on her. The things that man would do for a story.

"So what brings you to my neck of the beach?" asked Jeevan. He hopped onto his seat, which was the only empty one in the house. The other seats had random objects on them: one had a pile of bricks, one had a clock and one had a stuffed seagull.

"Ahem..." said Benton, "The reason I am here is to tell you the truth."

Jeevan shot Benton an inquisitive stare.

"I've been using you all these months, Jeevan." Benton looked down. His left eye quivered.

"What do you mean?" asked Jeevan.

"It seemed like I was being friendly with you but… I really wanted to get close to you so I could acquire one of your red pearls."

Jeevan rubbed the scar above his eyebrow, which was just as shimmery as when Corinthia last paid attention to it. "I have a very nice scar but-"

"Jeevan, let me finish. I sneaked into your room one night and picked off one of your pearls. I took that pearl, added the necessary ingredients to it and grew it in a special box. When I finally landed on this planet, I switched out the real queen pearl with yours and I've successfully tricked everyone into thinking that your pearl is one of the most honorable ones in the universe. It seemed absolutely hilarious at the time but it's only now that I've thought it through."

Jeevan's look slowly went from inquisitive to quizzical. He furrowed his eyebrows and his right cheek lifted a bit. "So you weren't my friend this entire time?"

"No, I was not your friend."

Corinthia didn't want to believe that Benton could change his mind about this so quickly but she saw a twinkle of sincerity in him at that moment. Perhaps her ability to convince people was better than she thought it was. No matter how remorseful this fish was, it was far too soon to trust him.

"So that's what I'm good for?" asked Jeevan, "A prop for a joke?"

"Listen… it was a stupid act of revenge against Her Grace Queen Gold Pearl. I suppose I should be lucky that she hasn't found out yet."

Jeevan exhaled hard and quickly while staring at his table. Just because Jeevan didn't show any passion didn't mean that he couldn't feel anger. In a way, this way of showing it was worse. He was imploding.

"How am I supposed to believe you? If what you say is true, then you basically outsmarted high-ranking officials. These pearl women are supposed to be infallible!"

"Jeevan, that's what I've been trying to tell people," said Corinthia, "They're not infallible."

All three of them fell silent. Corinthia couldn't help but stare at the shadows that the boxes were making. She focused on the smells of the newly-built house, which was a bit like paint and a little bit of dust. She wasn't sure whether this was strong to her since she couldn't jump into other people's bodies and smell it from their perspective. She focused on the sounds of the waves, which were particularly powerful. She focused on other things, namely taps and drips that, if she were to bring them up to other people, they would say that they didn't know what she was talking about.

"I still want more proof that this is the case," said Jeevan.

"We'd have to sneak into the castle where she's housed," said Corinthia.

"You've found just the fish for your job," said Benton. He was seeming like his smug, conniving self once more. "How do you think I got into this mess?"

The Grand Primordial Palace stood as a collection of rocks that were gathered together and stacked in an order that produced spaces for elegant rooms and hallways. The moss that covered the castle gave it an authentic look that helped it blend in with the planet. This building was so new that construction hadn't even been finished yet. It was only the center that had been built, the part where The Queen was to spend most of her time.

One day after being born and being greeted by her subjects, Queen Red was treated to just one of countless nights of pampering. In her throne room, she laid back in her royal chair and let her servants massage and paint her finger and toenails. This was perhaps the best way to be introduced to reality: experiencing the pleasure that makes one want to stay in it.

She opened her eyes to take a look at the crested penguin person who was about to use the blue nail polish on her toes.

"Loxias," said Queen Red.

"Yes?" asked Loxias.

"I prefer the pink polish. Do you think you can do the pink polish on my nails?"

"Why certainly, M'Lady. I really should have asked you earlier." He unzipped a bag of nail polish colors and picked out the one that The Queen requested.

"So you're of the pingua, correct?"

"Why, yes."

"And yet you call yourself Loxias. Why don't you call yourself Pingua?"

"Because Loxias is a name, M'Lady. It distinguishes me from the others. It is a gift from our parents."

"Distinguishes you? But why would you go through the trouble of calling yourself an entirely new word? Why not a number?"

"Well, probably because numbers are for things like item inventory and math equations." The servant held Her Majesty's big toe and carefully brushed the pink color onto the nail.

"Very well."

As the servants were making sure that Her Highness was comfortable and happy, she turned her head to the side to look out one of the tall windows. Close by was a neighborhood that had some lights on in their little houses. She caught a glimpse of some of her subjects walking around outside under the glow of the two moons.

"Torvald," she said.

A flounder man walked by with a silver plate of rolled-up clean towels.

"Yes, M'Lady?" he asked.

"Can you fetch me my binoculars?"

"Right away." The pancake-looking fish man set down the towels and ran out of the room.

Once he returned, he brought in a pair of golden opera glasses. He held them sideways so that they were positioned over Queen Red's eyes.

What she saw were sea creature people – that much was obvious. These people weren't just standing around and being given duties. No, this was not the time for that. These people were sitting in a circle and telling each other stories and laughing. There were people playing simple instruments, people dancing, people eating and drinking. There were people showing off new tools, new babies, new houses. There were smaller, pudgier people, too, who were playing and laughing and screaming. Some of these got into trouble with the bigger people but in general, the bigger people left the little people to their own devices as long as they did not wander far.

It was just so interesting watching the scene play out, far more interesting than just staring at the servants or the wall of the castle.

"Torvald," said Queen Red, "Please leave the binoculars here a little while longer."

"May I ask why, Her Highness?" asked Torvald.

Red paused but then eventually answered. "I just want to keep an eye on my subjects, that's all."

Gold Pearl and Lord Tridac watched as the surveyors were loading cargo onto their ships for their long, worthwhile journey. These large ships were saucer-shaped with different shades of blue, which would look beautiful to the advanced race that created them but terrifying to whichever primitive creatures inhabited the planets where they would hover over.

Lord Tridac used his mental powers to ignite the beam that would cause his massive body to float. He floated past the crew of each ship, who each had wooden looks on their faces and purple spacesuits that were decorated with nautilus designs. Some of these were tailored for the people who were of the races that had more limbs, such as the octopods and the teuthids.

"My empire is growing just as well as we want it to, Your Grace," said Lord Tridac.

"You mean _our_ empire," said Gold Pearl.

"Yes… I suppose."

Gold Pearl led the clam monster to one of the ships, where an orange hermit crab person wearing a white lab coat was doing equations on a touch-screen device. Her cylindrical eyes stood like trees and always looked wide and engaged no matter what. She had a lazy left eye with the pupil constantly veered toward the upper right of her vision. Her claw made clicking noises as she pressed each button on the screen.

"M'Lady, I'd like you to meet Hamartia," said Lord Tridac.

The hermit crab person looked up from her calculations and let out a startled shutter.

"M'Lady! M'Lord!" she said, "I wasn't expecting you here!"

"Hamartia is one of the mathematicians who pinpointed the coordinates of this new planet."

"Yes, and the coordinates are listed here." She showed the pearl and the oyster monster the screen and they each skimmed through what was listed there.

"My, my, those are a lot of digits," said Gold Pearl.

"As it should be. And our coordinates have only a 0.00001% margin of error."

"Really? Why not a 0.000001% margin of error?"

"Uh..." Hamartia quivered and looked away from Gold Pearl. She very nearly crouched down and hid in her shell.

"It doesn't matter," said Lord Tridac. Her calculations are good enough.

"I'm happy that you trust me with this important mission," said Hamartia, "Even though this is my first time guiding a mission."

"Oh, don't worry, you'll do a fine job," said Gold Pearl. She pat Hamartia on the eyes, causing her to (understandably) wince.

Gold Pearl then turned to the group of other mathematicians and gave a monstrous look.

"You make sure she does a fine job or it will be your heads on a plate served with a side of rice and steamed vegetables!" she whispered. She then downed her glass of white wine in several gulps before throwing it to the ground, sufficiently startling the group.

"Whelp," said a crab person, "Looks like we need to add 'Please a goddess' to our list of things to accomplish."


	18. Steven and Pearl's Battle

The bug-bear monster continued to stare down its potential victims, too corrupted in the head to ask questions to their intruders or let them apologize.

"You can't fight?" asked Steven, "But… you're a better fighter than me! And Garnet and Amethyst aren't here!"

"Steven," said Pearl. She kept a calm, reassuring voice, which was amazing at a time like this. "You've trained a lot these past few years. I'm sure you can handle something like this."

Since Pearl didn't have a heart, she also didn't have anything physical to alert her of any anxiety. Meanwhile, Steven's heart was galloping wildly to the point where he could feel the beat poking through his chest. This is what the idea of resorting to violence did when it crossed his mind but fortunately, he was not one to do that right away.

Steven's split-second reflexes helped him form a pink bubble around himself and Pearl once the creature launched itself at them. Its claws left light pink marks in the bubble but still prevented harm to Steven and Pearl.

When the creature back off, preparing for its next move, Pearl grabbed the spear from her gem and popped the bubble as she leaped into the air. Pearl managed to find time to do a flip before driving the weapon into the ground, narrowly missing the monster.

Steven knew that Pearl had a habit of underestimating herself and she was fighting just as well as she would with the absence of something growing inside her. However, this creature managed to outdo her when it it came to speed and defense. Every time she launched her spear, it would either miss entirely or hit one of its armored parts.

"Drat!" said Pearl. Even in a dire situation such as this, she remembered to substitute any potential curse words for more child-friendly ones.

When the bug-bear looked back at Steven, it charged at him, kicking up dirt and dust. Steven found just enough time to form his bubble again. Once the monster headbutted the bubble, he jolted backwards into the air. As he soared, he felt like he was in one of those educational 3-D movies that his dad took him to during their visit to Empire City's Museum of Science. He watched the scene grow smaller and more distant until the bubble hit a tall tree, shaking him up quite a bit.

As soon as Steven collected his thoughts, he saw that the bubble landed between two branches, keeping him suspended with a bird's view. He propped himself up onto his hands and stared out at the world. He would normally be in awe at a time like this but he was too busy being fearful of what would happen next. From afar, Pearl looked like a grasshopper as she dashed and jumped to avoid the monster's attacks, which lashed out in the form of tongue whips.

"I'll bet Amethyst could do that," thought Steven. He watched Pearl fight the beast a little more before he decided to return to the fight. He popped his bubble and floated back over to the battle.

When he returned, he glanced the situation, making use of the time that the beast hadn't noticed him. As Pearl fought and danced around the bug-bear, he thought about ways to put some sort of halt to what it was doing. Looking at the boulders that surrounded the area, he figured that this was the perfect time to use his super speed, super strength and spur-of-the-moment ingenuity.

He surveyed the area to find the biggest, most useful rocks. Before he knew it, he covered a five-mile radius. He increased his speed once more as he returned to those areas and scooped up those rocks. As he piled them into his arms, he could feel the weight getting heavier but to him, it felt like nothing more than adding to a pile of marbles. Pretty soon, he had to form a bubble around himself in order to contain all of the rocks and he added even more when he picked up the ones that were already surrounding the scene of the battle. He mentally calculated where to place the rocks before taking action.

Finally, he dropped each rock into its own pink bubble and landed them around the monster to enclose it.

 _THOOM, THOOM, THOOM_.

They landed in a spiral shape, looking almost like a performance art piece. He did it at a fast enough speed so that the monster didn't have much time to escape.

Soon, the monster was trapped by rocks. Pearl finally had a chance to process what happened.

"Steven?" she asked, "This is your plan?"

"I'm trying to keep the monster from..."

The monster burst out of the mound, causing the boulders to be thrown everywhere. One of the boulders managed to crush Pearl's foot and trap her. Steven didn't panic since he was perfectly capable of rectifying the situation. However, Pearl panicked, which one could argue was what she did best. Once he floated to the ground, he pushed the boulder to the side, freeing Pearl's leg and preventing her from poofing.

"Thank you so much, Steven," said Pearl as she placed her hand on her chest and caught her breath. "I must say that I always appreciate your attempts to think outside the box."

"You mean… outside the mound?" Steven smiled, although he knew that it seemed somewhat inappropriate to inject humor into the situation.

Pearl smiled but also rolled her eyes. "Yes, Steven. Outside the mound."

The two were dragged out of their fun little conversation when the beast swiped them with its elongated tongue. Steven, too entrenched in conversation, didn't have time to reform his bubble and he and Pearl were knocked onto their backs.

Pearl stood back up before Steven could prop up the front part of his body. Once he finally mustered the strength to do so, he saw that Pearl still had the same moxie as before. No mishap with a rock or a tongue was going to stop her. She fired the little blue lasers from her spear and some of them successfully hit the beast in its sensitive, non-armored areas. She seemed to be more focused than before. Perhaps that boulder acted as a splash of cold water to the face?

Steven then remembered that he had the ability to become a boulder himself, or at least something like it. Although he didn't like resorting to this, he knew that now was the time to resort to physically attacking the creature. Pearl was a strong woman who blossomed in her independence and confidence over the time that Steven had known her but the idea of a pregnant woman weakening this creature on her own was too much to bare.

Steven reformed his bubble except this time, he formed it with spikes. He ran in the direction of the beast, managing to crush leaves and twigs as a lead-up to crushing his actual target. This must have been what it felt like to run inside those massive plastic bubbles that would be used during field days at public schools. However, the speed at which he ran far exceeded even the most hyperactive kid on any green field.

Before he could hit the beast, it jumped into the air, causing Steven to hit a tree. This did not protect his body from hitting the solid surface as well. The bubble's spikes became stuck in the bark, causing Steven to retract the spikes and then reform them. He set his sights back on the monster, who was on the ground again. He then turned his spiked bubble into a high-speed pink death ball once more, this time hitting the creature. However, the creature's armor proved to be effective against Steven's attempts at attacking it.

When he landed on the ground, he very nearly rolled onto his head. As he felt the blood rush to his skull, he started to feel helpless in the face of this creature. He could still hear Pearl grunt as she attacked the bug-bear, although he couldn't always tell who was attacking who.

He rolled back onto his feet to see how Pearl was doing.

"Don't worry, Steven," said Pearl, "I've got this." She closed her eyes and cupped her hands around her gem, which shot out a beam of greyish-blue light. Out of that light came the expressionless holographic version of herself, which was programmed to fight at the ready.

"Hyaa!" said Holo-Pearl. She crouched down and jumped into the air with her sword, ready to slash the creature in two. One by one, more holographic pearls came out of her gem. She was basically a living photocopier and like a photocopier, she felt no stress or reaction from this act of replication.

Seven pearls circled the bug-bear and participated in a dance routine. They spun around in ballet-fashion. Steven admired how flawless they were in their movements and how in sync they were in their routine but then remembered that this type of perfection was a reminder of how artificial they all were. Steven could almost hear a twinkling, friendly melody in his head that accompanied this hologram dance, one that he improvised the more he thought it out. The holo-pearls spun their swords windmill-like before stepping back on their right feet. The bug-bear became confused at which pearl to pay attention to and as it focused its attention on one hologram, the others would lunge at it with their swords.

This was effective against the corrupted gem… at first. Eventually, this monster caught on to the fact that the holograms were all around it and it eventually started running after them. It was then that it showed off another one of its attacks: the ability to shoot mud balls from its mouth. Each ball of mud came fully formed from the back of its throat and hit the holograms, causing their pristine, technologically-modern blue to be sullied by a splattered messy brown. After a few more hits from the mud balls, the holograms disappeared in puffs of light blue smoke.

At this point, Pearl was showing clear signs of exhaustion, even if she didn't when she made the holograms. She breathed heavily and rested her hands on her knees. Somebody who was growing and sustaining life within her surely didn't have enough strength for both that and the battle. Maybe what Pearl needed was not more of her but a stronger version of herself.

And that's when Steven realized that this was the perfect time to talk to her. This was the time when he would try to make it work again.

"Pearl!" he called out.

Pearl slashed the creature with her spear in a last-ditch attempt at weakening it before she rested it on the ground. Sweat dripped down her face as she panted. She started to sway back and forth while gripping the spear. Meanwhile, the beast didn't look close to being finished with the two of them.

"Pearl!" shouted Steven. He remembered that his bubble tended to muffle the sound of his voice. Since his body was almost as tired as Pearl's was, he decided to form another bubble that was attached to this one. With his completed focus, he captured Pearl inside the other bubble and dragged her toward him, where the two bubbles kissed.

Pearl lifted her forearms and gazed at her feet even after she stopped moving. She then locked her eyes with Steven's.

"Steven, what is it?" she asked, "I don't need protecting. I'll be fine."

"Pearl..." said Steven, "We need to talk."

"This isn't the right time to do it, Steven."

"Yes, it is!" The volume of Steven's yell echoed around the two bubbles, which lead to his own ears being hurt by it.

"Steven, I don't want you using that tone with me!"

"Well I want you to listen to what I have to say, Pearl," said Steven. He felt the tingling of tears coming on but then they receded. "I don't want to fight. I just want to talk."

Pearl looked behind her. The beast was pacing around while keeping an eye on its opponents.

"All right, I'll listen," said Pearl, "What is it you want to talk about?"

"Pearl… well..." Steven had a hard time starting this sentence but eventually found the right place. "I saw your dream the other day after our dance practice. You were dreaming about the first time you and my mom fused to make Rainbow Quartz and how she defeated her first corrupted gem. Rainbow Quartz looked so perfectly formed. You and my mom went well together and you hoped that your relationship would last forever."

Pearl placed her hand on her chest and gave a worried look.

"And now because I'm here, you can't experience Rainbow Quartz anymore. I broke the forever between you and mom and… I'm sorry."

"Steven… you think that I'm angry about that?"

"No, not really. Just sad."

"Steven, I dreamed about that not because I miss your mother, although I still do at certain points. It was because it was a happy moment. If I had any ill will toward you, I would have woken up grumpy."

"But you were smiling."

"Exactly. I've been starting to have those memories without that sense of emptiness that I used to feel. And that is because I've realized that you fill it now. You're quite a different specimen but you don't make me any less happy."

At this point, the bug-bear began firing mud balls at the pink bubbles, causing Pearl's bubble to become dark.

"Well it's too bad that you've gotten over my mother because I wanted to do something special with you, something that would make this battle easier," said Steven.

"Oh?" said Pearl, "And what is that?" She seemed like she was only pretending to not know what Steven was implying.

"Pearl..." Steven offered Pearl his hand and leaned on the heal of his right foot. "I want to be part of your world again."

Pearl gasped and smiled. She looked like something out of a photograph, albeit one that was poorly lit. But there was still some worry in her, Steven could feel it. "Steven… are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes, Pearl. We've known each other for a long time and I've been practicing my ballet dancing, even when you're not there. Pleeeeeeaaaassse?" Steven fluttered his eyes.

"Well… all right. After all this training, I suppose it is time that we finally fused."

Steven closed his eyes and spread his arms, causing the conjoined bubbles to grow bigger so that he and Pearl would have more room.

After concentrating on his balance a bit, Steven made three wide-leg leaps into the air toward Pearl. As soon as he landed behind her, Pearl joined her hands and spun around in a circle like a tiny figure in a music box. Steven became aware of his pulse once more, not sure whether the combining of his light with Pearl's was going to work. He was then assured of this dance routine's (as short as it was) impending success by the fact that both his gem and Pearl's gem had begun to glow. This was his mother telling him not to underestimate himself. Pearl, apparently, was telling herself the same thing.

Pearl finally spun back to Steven. Since Steven and Pearl were of different heights, they could not finish on any fancy ending pose so they completed the dance by holding each other's hands. This was enough to suffice since once their gems were glowing and their bodies were in sync with one another, physical contact of any kind was all that was needed to form a fusion.

And then the wonderful moment happened.


	19. Rainbow's Return

When Steven and Pearl touched hands, all Steven could see was brightness. The inner essence that made him a gem was revealing itself and combining with Pearl's. At this point, everything he knew about himself – his body, his thoughts, his voice, his awareness – was undergoing a quick and massive restructuring where its physical state was converting to a more versatile form. He was now an ingredient, an easily-mixable one that didn't need an implement to be stirred with another.

As his body became light, he still felt himself as being Steven but also had a fleeting sensation of being his powerful previous incarnation. This happened every time he fused with someone: He did not feel like a physically and emotionally-stunted sixteen-year-old boy; he felt like he was a large woman with the confidence to be a leader and the strength that was gained from fighting a hundred wars. He felt the power of love course through him, a love that he shared with Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Greg, love that was both familial or romantic depending on the person. But most of all, he felt a motherly love towards the diverse creatures of the earth and the will to protect them. In this fleeting sensation, he felt like he had completed his life's goals, a "spoiler" to his narrative, so to speak. He felt like his mother.

As Steven and Pearl's form grew, Steven lost his autonomy and identity, one of the few times where one would welcome a development like this. He was lost in her. She was lost in him. Soon, they, separate were cemented as they, singular. Rainbow Quartz had returned.

The mud-covered bubbles burst when they grew to their full size. Rainbow Quartz stood up, taking a few seconds to glance at the world from eight feet high. They looked down at their outfit: a red leotard with a familiar yellow star covering the chest. Right below it was an even more familiar pink gem covering the navel area. Their body was curved like a woman's, slender with no bruises or blemishes on their light pink skin. They placed their hands on their forehead, where they felt pearl's ovular gem still in the place where it was before.

Because Rainbow Quartz had Pearl's knowledge, she knew the name of the song that she was listening to earlier. It was The Fantastic Schertzo, composed by Josef Suk ( youtu. be/kpTtgf2kJu8). Its dangling bells and waltz melody played in their head as a reminder that they felt the same at this time as Pearl did when she last listened to it: calm and cool.

Rainbow Quartz was so excited that they felt like dancing… which was precisely what they did. They did a _chass_ é – a fluttery skip – then went down to _demi-pli_ _é_ , where they crossed their left leg over their right while cupping their hands – and then they leapt into the air in a _grand jet_ _é_. The bug-bear looked up at the fusion but showed no sign of fear or submission.

"I've got this," they thought. The song continued as they incorporated their dancing into their fighting. They pirouetted in front of the creature and, on the third spin, they kicked the creature square in the face. The bug-bear was discombobulated but still prepared for its next attack. It opened its mouth wide and fired mud balls at Rainbow Quartz once again.

This time, Rainbow Quartz quickly formed Steven's shield from their stomach and grabbed Pearl's javelin from their forehead. These two weapons fused into their trusted parasol. The memories flooded in from the previous times when they used this deceptively adorable weapon, a time when more corrupted gems walked the earth. They shielded themselves from the mud balls, which were not as powerful as this creature made them out to be. Drops of brown splattered to the ground with each hit and painted the fallen leaves.

Soon, the creature gave up and attacked Rainbow Quartz with its claws. It made the wise choice of attacking their legs, which were unshielded by the parasol. The creature's teeth pierced through Rainbow Quartz' skin, resulting in a sharp burning sensation that managed the reach the middle of their leg. But Rainbow was not disheartened, for they had more in store for this battle.

As the creature bit through their leg like a sausage, Rainbow Quartz made some adjustments to their parasol. The top part straightened itself out into a circle and became sharp. It now looked like a pizza cutter except with the blade facing sideways. As the creature bit through their leg, they were more likely to unfuse or maybe poof.

But just in time, Rainbow Quartz squeezed the handle of their parasol and the blade started spinning rapidly. They swung the weapon back over their shoulder like a baseball player about to hit a ball. And with one forward swing…

ZZZZZZZING

Rainbow Quartz cut the bug-bear's back armor in half. However, they only got the top and side parts of it and did it horizontally, so the armor stayed on its body. The monster let go of Rainbow Quartz's leg and noticed the damage that had been done. The creature was nowhere near vulnerable, at least not yet.

With multiple swipes, Rainbow Quartz cut through the creature's armor and more streaks formed, exposing its soft, beige skin. The armor was still not falling off. The creature lunged at Rainbow Quartz, causing them to jump into the air.

This was their chance. Steven's floating powers contributed to an astronomically high jump that would only stop when Rainbow wanted it to. As they shot upward, the ground and the forest canopy shrunk like it did when Steven jumped up while inside his bubble. Soon, the leaves on the tops of the trees could not be recognized as individual details but were instead homogenous lumps of orange, brown and yellow. As they shot themselves higher and higher, their black locks were pressed down by the air pressure, nearly causing them to uncurl.

Rainbow Quartz stopped when they reached a height where they were locked into the expansive sky but could still see the creature below them. That's when they performed a gymnastic flip and started their decent back to the ground.

As they got closer and closer to the ground, their speed accelerated. They could feel their skin become hotter until it was at a temperature that would be unbearable to a human… but a minor inconvenience to a human/gem hybrid.

Rainbow Quartz eventually planted their right foot into the creature's back, causing a bright flash and a tremor.

 _BOOM!_

The explosion rocked Rainbow's ears but the bang quickly subsided and gave way to a rumbling. They closed their eyes the entire time, trying to keep their balance and peace during this "natural" disaster.

Several minutes later, they opened their eyes (all four of them) and surveyed the area. They were standing in the middle of the crater that they had created, surrounded by trees that had teetered over onto their sides and exposed their roots. This indentation in the ground was perfectly round and not terribly deep. Rainbow still felt warm from their rocket-like descent. They wiped their forehead, which was slippery with sweat.

There was something by their foot that they kicked aside.

When they looked down, they saw that it was just what they wanted: the gem that was on the monster's body. They picked it up and inspected it: it was brown zircon. Rainbow did not intend to poof the gem right away. They only intended to crush its armor so that it could be defeated easier. However, poofing it immediately was probably the best option since that corrupted gem would have been humiliated in its vulnerable state. Rainbow figured that it was feeling terrible enough in its corrupted form. They picked up the gem. Inside the brown, ovular gem was a world of beauty, with whites that would appear and disappear as they turned it. This beauty was not present in this creature during the brief time that Rainbow had known it but this gem was capable of revealing its true self, its untarnished self. Rainbow Quartz might not see that day but Steven and Pearl certainly would. They also didn't know whether the untarnished self would be, at worst, loyal to Home World or, at best, politically neutral. All this would not realize itself until later.

They formed a pink bubble around the gem and tapped it to transport it to the space with the other bubbled gems.

"Safe journey, bug-bear," they said as the waved. This was the first time Rainbow Quartz heard their voice, although it was a tad different than it was back in the days when Pearl would fuse with Rose. It was a young voice that could easily match that of a tomboy on the playground. At this point, Rainbow Quartz had outlived their usefulness but there was just so much more to explore about themselves… such as what they looked like.

Rainbow walked around until they encountered the nearest body of water. When they looked down, they saw their face: a slightly chubby face with four eyes: two with brown pupils and two with light blue. There was a short, pointed nose and a smile that grew in size the more that they looked at their reflection. Their hair wasn't flowing, pink and shiny like it was in the old days. Now, it was black and curly, only reaching down to their shoulders. They touched their face once more. It was cherub's skin, although Rainbow knew little of what a cherub felt like. And they knew many things since they had the combined knowledge of Steven and Pearl. They were spoiled with the fact that other beings gained these experiences and knowledge for them instead of living and learning themself.

And, with that, Rainbow knew that they were loved. They loved themself and they loved how they were a literal embodiment of love, the love between Pearl and Steven. This was a celebration of the life that came from that love, like a funeral but without the drab colors or sadness that a funeral would entail, a celebration of the mark of birth rather than the mark of death.

And what do you do if you're a celebration? Why, you dance, of course! Rainbow danced a jig; it wasn't any particular one, just one that they improvised. Not all dancing had to be planned ahead of time. The waltz that played in their head gave way to a sprightly folk tune. They spun around in a circle and stared at the sky while laughing. Today was their day.

They ran back into the woods where they ran and leapt like deer. They were a living, moving ball of springtime running through the colors of autumn. They were not headed anywhere in particular. There was no destination but where they were, no time like now. This must have been what Garnet felt like all the time. If this was the case, then it was no wonder why Garnet was so at ease with herself.

Rainbow Quartz came upon a large rock. When they ran up the rock, they felt like showing themselves off to the world. The words that Garnet had told Steven when he and Connie first fused into Stevonnie were buzzing in Rainbow's head: "You are not one person. You are not two people. You are an experience."

It was true that they were neither one person nor two people. That was because they were actually three people. They looked down at their stomach and rubbed it lovingly. They may have realized themself but the gem growing in their womb had yet to reveal _her_ self. They just knew that she was going to be strong and beautiful, as capable as a gem could possibly be. The developing gem didn't make any movement but she did give off a dazzling warmth that became stronger the more that Rainbow focused on her.

"Hello, gem," said Rainbow, "You still have growing to do but I love you. Garnet and Amethyst love you, too, even though you haven't shown your face yet. I would hug you but you being inside my tummy is like hugging you twenty-four-seven."

Rainbow Quartz looked into the distance toward nothing in particular. She spent that half hour bathing in the woodland air.

Rainbow Quartz walked back to where Garnet and Amethyst were, amazed that they even remembered where they last saw them. They didn't want to unfuse just yet.

When they arrived, Garnet and Amethyst were deep in conversation and had their backs turned, perfect for surprising them.

"Guess who's baaaaaack," sang Rainbow. She smiled and spread her arms.

Once Amethyst and Garnet turned around, their expressions said it all.

"Whoa-ho-ho," said Amethyst, "Who do we have here?"

Garnet didn't say anything, or at least not anything verbal. She had the biggest grin painted on her face. Rainbow Quartz didn't expect anything less since Garnet was seeing both a new fusion and a fusion that she hadn't seen in years, as contradictory as that sounded.

"What we have here is Rainbow Quartz Universe!" said Rainbow.

"I never thought I'd see the day!" said Garnet. "Welcome back, Rainbow! I love your new look!" Garnet was entertained enough to clap.

"Why, Garnet, I'm flattered." Rainbow put their hands behind their back and crossed their legs.

Garnet stopped clapping but did not stop smiling. "So tell us, Rainbow Quartz Universe… where have you been?"

"Oh, nowhere… just a little ways into the woods defeating a corrupt gem."

"So that's what that extinction-causing explosion was," remarked Amethyst.

"Erm, yeah… I caused that." Rainbow was bashful about this destruction, so much that they wanted to end the conversation. "Listen… I have to go now. But I hope to see you guys again soon."

"Can't wait for the next catastrophe to happen!" said Amethyst.

"See you later, alligator."

And those were the last words that Rainbow Quartz Universe said before their poofed into a cotton candy cloud. In their place were Steven and Pearl.

Steven's mind refocused back to its original state. He was once again Steven, the boy who was half human and half gem who loved ice cream and show tunes. Although he was no longer Rainbow Quartz, he still had a memory of this experience and felt like he was in control the entire time. He did not choose any action that would have contradicted what the Pearl side of them wanted, which was the sign of a successful fusion. In fact, that was the other sign of a successful fusion: That there was no "Pearl side." In essence, he was Pearl and she was Steven and they thought little of it.

But even after they unfused, one part of Rainbow Quartz remained: their child-like sense of happiness. Steven was in the mood to give Pearl a bone-shattering hug and Pearl felt the same way.

Pearl laughed the flowery, house wife laugh that Steven loved hearing from her. They both danced in place while giving each other nose kisses.

"You guys!" said Steven as he looked back at Amethyst and Garnet, "I got to dance on my tippy-toes!"

"That you did, Steven!" said Pearl.

"And I was pregnant!"

At this point, Pearl bashfully and sarcastically laughed. "In the future, it's probably not best to announce that to company, Steven."

Steven wasn't ashamed. He kept that boomerang-shaped smile on his face.

"So now that we're all happy, it's time that we went back to finding Peridot," said Garnet, "We should be getting fairly close to her."

Steven looked up at Pearl again.

"Hey Steven?" said Pearl.

"Yes?" asked Steven.

"Thank you for being a part of my world." She kneeled down and opened her arms. Steven hugged her, taking in her motherly warmth.

However, he was aware of something else. Deep within Pearl was a light thumping. It fluttered rhythmically, never speeding up or slowing down. He put his hand on Pearl's stomach to make sure that what he was feeling wasn't just his imagination.

He then gasped. His happiness returned but for a different reason.

"Pearl…" he said, "I can feel the gem's heartbeat!"

"Very funny, Steven," said Pearl.

"No, really! The gem has a heart! Back me up, Amethyst!"

"Sure thing, Steven," said Amethyst. She transformed into a floating, purple stethoscope with her eyes where the ear tips were.

Pearl adjusted the stethoscope so that the tips fit into her ears and she placed the end of it onto her stomach. Once she heard what Steven heard, she placed her hand over her mouth in astonishment.

"Yep," said Amethyst (whose mouth was on the chest piece), "That's a heartbeat if I ever heard one." Once Pearl was done listening, Amethyst transformed back into herself.

Pearl continued to stare off into the distance with her pupils shrunk into the middles of her eyes.

"I… I don't know what to think," she said. She placed her hands on her stomach. "No, really, I don't know what to think. This shouldn't be possible. Gems don't have hearts or any other internal organ."

"Of course it's possible, Pearl," said Steven, "After all, I have a heart. And Stevonnie has a heart… and Rainbow Quartz has a heart."

"Well… I'll accept it for now. Just because it doesn't make to me doesn't mean it shouldn't happen."

"Now you know how I feel, Pearl," said Steven, "A lot of things have never made sense to me and I don't find out about them until later."

The gems kept walking in the woods to where they thought Peridot was going to be. Steven's breathing became irregular. What would this reunion be like? How different would Peridot be after all this time? It took a fairly short amount of time for her to transform from a cold, calculating insurgent to a happy-go-lucky nerd. If that was the case, then two years was plenty of time to completely do over her personality.

Soon, they came upon a part of the forest that differed from the rest. There were more colors here but nothing stunning. There were bright oranges but also whites, beiges and grays. The ground was covered in them and they formed in clumps. Upon closer inspection, Steven found out what they were: They were mushrooms.

"You guys," said Steven, "Did we enter a fairy tale?"

Ahead was a wooden shack that was built around a large tree with tents set up nearby. Little flashes of light accompanied by buzzing noises were coming from the gaps in the wooden frame of the shack. Next to the shack was a solar panel collecting sunshine to power whatever was flashing.

Pearl reached out and held Steven's hand. The gems stood there to take in the situation and figure out what exactly was going on.

Someone on the inside of the shack moved a plank of wood. This person stepped out calmly. She was short in stature – a child's height – and was wearing a flowery dress. The dress was torn in places and had dirt on certain areas, although this added something realistic to her outfit since flowers do, indeed, grow in dirt. Her blonde hair had grown out and was allowed to flop down her back, although the end of her hair was cut in a way where the middle was pointed like an arrowhead. Along with her disheveled look was a face that looked exhausted and stunned. Steven could see the bags under her eyes from where he was standing.

The girl also had lime-green skin, pointed yellow lenses covering her eyes and a certain familiar green gem in her forehead that was shaped like an upside-down triangle. There was no doubt about it, this was Peridot.

"Peridot?" said Steven.

The girl studied the group of people before she responded.

"Clods?" she said.


	20. Meeting His Creation

Iktheos IV's sun had set and the landscape was covered in indigo. Benton's plan was ready to go.

The people of the nearby town were busy socializing and being with their families to notice the three Liquidians sneaking toward The Grand Primordial Palace. The air was cool but Corinthia was feeling warm from both the physical exertion of her little body and the tension of it all. She couldn't possibly know how this was making an old man like Jeevan feel. This man, who never considered himself to be anyone of importance, much less a god, was about to confront his creation.

"Let me tell ya, Corrie," he said, "I had a wife, six children and twenty-three grandchildren. I thought my days of bringing things to life were long over but this… this is an interesting turn of events."

It was quite the understatement that he called it an interesting turn of events. To Corinthia, an interesting turn of events would be for a Guadelgop player to score a goal on the opposing team. When it came to events, something like this wouldn't as much be a turn as it would be a sudden crash into a metal wall. But that was just Corinthia's way of seeing things.

The three of them approached the lavish gate, where six foot tall abalone guards were standing by and keeping a lookout. These were the only two there since The Queen figured that the area was sparsely populated enough to warrant only a little security. Since Benton, Corinthia and Jeevan were entering from behind the castle, these guards did not notice them. These guards were only concerned with what was directly in front of their eyes. They each held large guns, although the size of their beefy arms told others that these shiny, lethal toys were mostly for decoration and that they could do enemies in just fine without them.

The mote that had not been filled in with water yet. The group hopped into the empty river. Now, Corinthia's vision was blocked by black. She could close her eyes and there wouldn't be any difference. She still followed the group by going in the direction of where she could hear the shuffling of their bodies against the dirt. They stopped every so often to let Benton plant his little props.

They eventually reached the point where they were directly under the guards.

"OK," Whispered Benton, "I've got it from here."

This was the part where all that Corinthia and Jeevan had to do was wait.

"Greetings!" said Benton. This time, his voice was not only loud, it was echoing and intimidating.

"Who's there?" asked one of the guards.

"It is I, Quentin Phineas Nobody! I am here to cause chaos!"

"Where are you?" asked the other guard.

"I am everywhere!" Benton then pressed a button and made it so that the voice came from the west side of the moat. "I am here!"

The guards hopped away from the gate, pounding their squishy, lumbering bodies into the ground in a frenzy.

"I am here as well!" said Benton's voice from the other side of the moat.

"He's over there!" said one of the guards, "Nobody's over there!"

Benton turned off his microphone (not that anybody could tell in this darkness) and whispered to his comrades.

"Okay, let's go before they get back."

The sound of him climbing up the moat signaled everyone else to do the same. Corinthia had only her tiny claws to depend on; as she climbed, she scraped the front of her bottom shell against the dirt, causing dust to gather near her body. She hated it but what was about to happen made it worth the discomfort.

The three of them ran up to the front gate, which had one set of keyholes and two sets of knockers: one above for the taller people and one below for those who were the height of our heroes. Benton tried pulling one of the lower ones but didn't succeed in moving the large door.

Corinthia was already quite winded from the climbing and hopping she had to do and, on top of that, felt tense in knowing that it was just a matter of time before the abalones caught them. But then she saw an easier way to get to the Red Queen.

"Uh… Benton?" said Corinthia.

"Not now, Corinthia!" said Benton as he kept trying to pull the doors open, "I'm trying to get us inside!"

"There's an entire wall over there that has yet to be built." Sure enough, there was a part of the castle with its insides still exposed, although there was nothing in the room but a door.

"Oh..."

"Well this is becoming more and more convenient, now, isn't it?" said Jeevan. This man looked as happy as he always did but something about his voice suggested that he was tired and wanted to complete the mission as soon as possible.

Before Corinthia approached the open room, she checked to see if the abalone guards were still distracted. One of them was rummaging through a bush that was much smaller than he was. The other was bent over to check to see if anything that could make a loud, intimidating voice was in the moat.

"Have you found Nobody yet?" asked one of them.

"No," said the other, "But I just know that Nobody's here!"

Good. They were distracted and confused. The group could finally go inside the unfinished castle.

When they walked into the open room, they stepped on a shiny wood floor that lay before a white wall. That wall presented a lavishly decorated door. Designs of detailed corals and sea plants decorated the frame. Amazingly, the humid weather and salty air did nothing to cause any deterioration, either because the door was new or because there was other-worldly technology at play, like the kind that was seen back on the ship.

Like a gate to a heavenly realm, Benton opened the door slowly. What lay before them was a massive corridor decked in pink. The floors were shimmering marble, a material that managed to have a reputation of being pure and clean despite the fact that it had streaks of gray in it. The air was artificially chilled by the air conditioning system. This was felt all over the castle despite only one person needing to be comforted. There were three fountains in succession featuring pearl women in different poses: one was walking with a bucket while staring wistfully into the distance with water coming from the bucket; one was standing on one foot with the other leg straight out behind her while she squirted water from her mouth; finally, the last one was sitting with her knees up to her chest while water wept from her closed eyes.

They looked around; there were no servants or anyone of importance. There was no way to tell if Her Majesty was here as well, although it was doubtful that she had left the premises for any reason. Corinthia thought she heard the recording of a string quartet playing in the background but the sound was so faint that she could barely tell.

"Well I'll be..." said Jeevan, "We're in the lap of luxury."

Corinthia wanted to revel in the huge, ultra-modern space but knew that she was only there for the mission, which had nothing to do with looking at shiny floors or pretty decorations.

"Which door do you think she's behind?" she asked.

Everyone looked around at all the doors, which looked just like the one they went through.

"If I had to guess, I would say that it would be that door," said Benton.

All the way down the hallway was a massive door that was even more decorated than the ones around it. It was made to look like a bejeweled clamshell with a white circle in the center. Whether or not the center was made from actual pearl was beyond Corinthia's knowledge.

Once they approached this door, they looked up at it, studying its detail and symbolism. This door was one that lead to a prominent, artificially-created authority figure and yet its shell-like frame invoked a sense of familiarity, as it was basically something that all the (formally) lowly pinctas had. It was as if it was saying that it was the oyster people who were the true gods in all of this and the pearls who were just pawns for a people who couldn't live without divine guidance.

"You ready for this, Jeevan?" asked Corinthia.

"As ready as I usually am," said Jeevan. This man was particularly good at hiding emotion. Either that or he just wasn't afraid of anything, which Corinthia somehow doubted.

Benton opened the door. Inside was a huge room with massive, fancy curtains that looked like they were heavy to carry. The walls were the same color as the walls in the hallway but the floor was covered in a massive carpet with flowery patterns. The room had in it a sitting area, a private salon complete with a reclining chair and a bathtub and a vanity with makeup and grooming tools. Finally, there was a collection of soft, colorful pillows and this pile was surrounded a wooden canopy that held thin, lacy curtains. These were all the way at the end of the room.

When they were halfway toward the other end of the room, Jeevan stopped.

"Er..." he said.

"What's wrong?" asked Corinthia.

"I… don't think this is a good idea," he whispered, "You may be right when you say that these aren't real goddesses but do you really think we should be taking a risk with a being with so much authority?"

Corinthia placed her claw on Jeevan's shoulder. "Don't worry. I can assure you that I have my ways of fighting off creatures like this if ever I feel that she is threatening us." It hurt to say these things because it was proof that Corinthia's past was truly not pushed down into the depths of her mind like it once was. She was slowly realizing that it was only safe to keep it pushed down when her life wasn't in danger. But how dangerous was something that was only born a day ago?

When they approached the canopy, they saw the silhouette of the "person" behind the thin curtains. She was sitting against the wall with her legs out. They knew it was her from the svelte body and hair loops. They couldn't tell whether the monarch was awake or not. She couldn't have been. Otherwise she would have reacted.

"If you want, I can approach her," said Corinthia.

Jeevan trembled. "Would you mind, dear?"

Corinthia didn't answer. She hopped over to the curtain, treating it like opening any other curtain, and gazed at Queen Red. The Queen sat there with her arms to her side and her eyes gently closed. Her cheeks were still blushed red, her dress was clean as could be. Although Corinthia questioned the goddess status of these creatures, looking at one in this state was still unsettling to her. Neither Queen Red's chest nor stomach expanded to indicate breathing. There was no swaying of her upper body. Despite sleeping in a pile of pillows, she kept her shoes on and these shoes did not have any sort of dirt or dust on them. This pearl was a prized collectable among the others, which would be used for war with other planets. Corinthia sincerely believed that she wouldn't be able to startle this woman because she looked to be dead, a state that supposedly didn't exist for the pearls.

Corinthia reached out and touched the queen's foot. The Queen startled herself awake. If this being was indeed an expensive toy for the masses, then this was the "on" response that she had triggered.

Queen Red locked locked her deep red eyes with Corinthia. She gave a blank stare, or at least it seemed like that at first. Her stiff posture and straight line of a mouth suggested that she was startled.

"Groveling peasants!" she said with an air of importance, "Who goes here?"

Corinthia thought that she was ready for this but she didn't know where to start.

"Erm… um… uh..." she said.

"Why aren't you bowing your head in my presence? I am a pearl!"

Corinthia didn't bow her head out of fear; she did it in order to appease this light-based alien creature so that she could continue that conversation. She took a deep, cleansing breath before speaking.

"Your Grace, Queen Red Pearl… my name is Corinthia and I have come to you with my companions to give you a very important message." Corinthia was not aware of the pearl's reaction since she was staring at the bubble patterns on the pink pillow.

"Well, it's not like I have anything else to do on this night."

Corinthia was thrilled that this important leader was giving her the time to speak. She expected her to be expelled from the premises before such an opportunity arose. But then again, this plan would not have been executed if there was no chance of the former happening.

"We have come here to tell you that the pincta that you believe created your pearl is a fraud. Who we have here is the real creator of your pearl." Corinthia opened the curtain wider and Queen Red scootched closer to see the other invaders of her property.

Jeevan looked her in the eyes for a brief second before bowing his head.

Queen Red took a look at the elderly pincta, who was making himself as small as possible in her presence.

"Peasent," said The Queen, "State your name."

"K'yolmer," said Jeevan, "My name is Jeevan K'yolmer and I work on cleanup duty at the local pulverizer."

Queen Red studied the man, taking in every detail on his tiny body right down to the purple liver spots on his arms. "Look up."

"I… I beg your pardon, Your Grace?"

"You heard me, I said look up!"

"But you are a highly esteemed being made of-"

"I don't care, peasant! I rule over you and when I say 'Look up,' you should look up!"

Jeevan did as she said. When he raised his head, his eyes were squinted in fear. It was difficult to fight the social conditioning instilled in him from the past few years, especially if the person who was telling him to break that habit was from the same race who enforced it in the first place.

After a few seconds of silence, Her Majesty The Queen reeled back in horror, no doubt recoiling at the scar on Jeevan's forehead. This decorated lady normally didn't flinch at the sight of her subjects but this one instilled fear and disgust in her.

"Get off my property this instant!" she said as she covered her eyes.

Once she revealed her eyes again, Corinthia could have sworn that they were glowing bright red to match the monarch's anger. She turned to Corinthia, who ignored the urge to shrink into her shell. Corinthia scrunched her face into a stern look even though she was unsure whether it matched what she felt on the inside.

"You're a liar! I will not stand for the likes of you here! Guards! Guards!"

Jeevan was too panicked to feel offended at her remarks. All of them ran toward the door, which was too far away for their liking.

Queen Red picked up a transmission device and placed it by her head.

"Guards," she said, "There are intruders in my domain. I request your services immediately!"

As thick-headed as these guards were, they knew how to be in the right place at the right time. Before the three of them could reach the door, the abalone guards entered and blocked their way. Each one had arms that were muscular and curved, with one hand clutching his gun and their other hand clenched in a fist. Corinthia didn't see this as a threat but a confrontation. She could take these guys on. She could take them on and have enough strength to take on a killer whale. But that wasn't Corinthia the administrative assistant. She had to remind herself that.

"Take these cretins to the dungeon!" shouted Queen Red from across the room.

"Right away, Your Grace," said one of the abalones. This one dropped his gun and cracked his knuckles while grimacing.

As Corinthia, Benton and Jeevan tried to escape around the guards, they were grabbed with little effort. Corinthia squirmed. She made her body squeeze and contort in an effort to stretch herself thin enough to escape the clenched fist. But that lumpy, beige fist was capable of a strong grip. Benton was in the left fist of the other abalone and his legs moved erratically. He drummed the guard's arm repeatedly with his hands. Jeevan, using his limited geriatric strength, used his arms to try and push himself up out of the other fist. Unlike animals with skeletons, Corinthia and Jeevan could breathe just fine even when squeezed like a tube of glue. Corinthia didn't know about Benton, though.

Once The Queen crawled back into her pile of pillows, she picked up her transmission device and dialed a new number. She placed it up to her ear and, after a few beeps, someone picked up.

"Transmission Room," said the woman at the other end, "How may I be of Your service?"

"Have the cameras been set up?" asked The Queen.

"Everything should be ready to go."

"Good. I will try them right now." Queen Red hung up the phone and turned on a screen located at the corner of her "bed." There were static lines going up the screen diagonally at first but the picture became clearer. The camera had been set up in a disclosed location in the nearest town. The sea creature people were going in and out of buildings, eating at restaurants, dancing in clubs and perusing the shops. This "program" didn't follow one story but many going on at once, many that starred anonymous characters that were doing things in a context that had to be figured out by the watcher.

Queen Red fixed her eyes on the screen, blocking out the rest of the world. She was in for some quality entertainment.

The two abalone guards hopped away from the room. To Corinthia, everything after this moment was predictable. After all, The Queen ordered the guards to take them to the dungeon. However, everything after this was still vague. How long would they be there? Would they be let out after a while or would there be punishment? Does this punishment include death, considering how Gold Pearl normally handled things?

But Corinthia's thoughts were focused on those things only briefly. Her thoughts were seeded with what she found to be unusual about The Queen. At first, she couldn't put her claw on it. It was something that was missing from her that everyone could do to a certain extent.

And then it hit her: Corinthia had never seen The Queen walk.


	21. Peridot: Queen of the Mushrooms

"Clods?" asked the green girl in the dirty dress.

Peridot was there but she was not Peridot the gem but Peridot the ragamuffin. But that didn't matter to Steven. What mattered was that the word was uttered, the one that was originally intended as an insult but was morphed into a term of endearment overtime.

"Peridot!" said Steven.

Suddenly, Peridot's look of befuddlement gave way to that smile that Steven always liked.

"Steven!" she said. She raised her arms into the air, preparing for the inevitable.

Although Peridot looked wildly (quite literally) different from her original Home World look, Steven hugged her anyway. Since Peridot was not a human, she did not have the smell of sweat or other bodily fluids on her skin or clothes. She just smelled like dirt and twigs, which was kind of nice. Since Steven's hand was on her back, he took this time to feel the hair that she had let down. It was straight in some areas but fizzy and unkempt in others. There were bits of broken leaves woven into her blonde locks. It felt strange hugging a gem who was wearing a piece of clothing that she had actually slipped on as opposed to "clothing" that was bound to the skin through shapeshifting.

"Peridot," said Pearl in a chipper tone, "It's been so long! You look positively… different."

Peridot looked up and down at Pearl.

"Why, you do, too, Pearl," said Peridot. She then turned to Steven and whispered into his ear. "I think she's been letting herself go."

Steven smiled because this was the perfect time to give Peridot the news. "Oh, she's not fat, Perry! She's pregnant!"

"Preg… nant?"

"You know what that means, right?"

"Of course I know what it means! I've been around natural processes for the past two years. I just never thought it would happen to… her."

"Well, it's a long story," said Pearl. "Would you like us to tell you?"

"Maybe later. What matters is that you're doing it and you don't seem to mind."

Garnet had her head turned, looking at the marvelous land of mushrooms that the group had walked into.

"I think you should tell us what you've been up to," said Garnet. "We'd love to hear it."

"I'd like to know more about this wacky place first," said Amethyst. "I like how you've decorated it." She then plucked a small, brownish mushroom from the soil and took a look at it.

Peridot gasped in horror and shook like a piece of rubber.

"What are you doing!" she exclaimed. She ran over and grabbed the mushroom from Amethyst's hands. "You've just hurt poor Lloyd!"

Amethyst snickered.

"Lloyd?" she said, "You named a mushroom?"

"It isn't the name of the mushroom, you clod." Apparently, "clod" still had its reputation firmly planted in the "insult" category. "It's the name of his fungus. He's an _Agaricus bisporus_ and he's hiding underground. This mushroom is just one of his growths. Thankfully, he should sprout more of them soon to make up for this sudden act of carnage." She walked back to the cremini bunch where Amethyst harvested the mushroom. "Are you all right, Lloyd? I promise she won't hurt you anymore."

Peridot seemed a bit more eccentric and deranged than usual, even for Peridot. She had been putting so much energy into this hobby of hers but Steven was happy that she was happy. Like the growth of the mushrooms that she was stewarding, this was what happened when she was left alone for a little while.

"You care a whole lot about these mushrooms, Peridot," said Steven.

"Of course I do! You're not looking at Peridot the Kindergartener or Peridot the Crystal Gem. You're looking at Peridot the Junior Mycologist!"

"And a mycologist is..." said Amethyst.

"I think it's pretty obvious by this point." Peridot signaled for the gems to follow her as she led a tour of her own little area.

As Steven followed her, he felt like he was taking a tour of a work of art that he had just become a part of. There were clusters of mushrooms of all types – big ones, small ones, brown ones, ones that grew on logs, ones that grew on trees, and this fascinating one that looked like a spongy puffball. They had no eyes but he felt as though they were all looking at the gems and that they didn't have many worries about strangers. They just stood there as living decorations.

"Welcome to my domain," said Peridot. All of these specimens that lay before you are my hard work and nurturing. Well… it wasn't hard work, really. I just lay the spawn into the soil and they practically pop up overnight. I am here to make sure that they have plenty of water, dirt and decaying matter to make them happy."

Pearl looked uneasy about being around this diversity of fungus. She never liked dirt or dead things, so it made sense that she wouldn't like things that liked those things.

"What are all of these mushrooms?" asked Steven.

"Well, let's see. I'll start with our good friends the polypores." Peridot pointed to a bunch of mushrooms that looked like a bouquet of brown flowers growing at the base of a tree. "These are maitake or "Hen of the Woods. They like to grow at the bases of trees and are a perennial fungus..."

Peridot explained all the different types of mushrooms. Steven was engaged in this lesson, Pearl and Garnet were engaged to varying degrees and Amethyst placed her two index fingers near her face and played around with the "finger sausage" optical illusion. Peridot lifted a half of a cantaloupe covered in white fuzz.

"Oh, you'll like this one," she said, "This is Jeff. He is _Penicillium chrysogenum_ , which is what penicillin is made from! I will never need to use him but humans everywhere have him to thank for the contribution he's made to their health." She walked up to Pearl and held the moldy melon up to her. "You want to pet him?"

Pearl backed away quickly. She bore her teeth and bent her fingers at the fuzzy fruit.

"Ugg..." she said, "Erm… maybe some other time, Peridot. I'm sure he's very nice."

"Can you please tell us how you got here?" asked Steven, "And why you have mushrooms? And where you got that pretty dress?"

"It's not that pretty," whispered Pearl under her breath.

Peridot took a few moments to collect her thoughts and sighed. Steven could tell that introducing them to her mushroom friends was just one way that she was trying to delay the inevitable.

"All right," she said, "I knew it would come sooner or later. Everybody take a seat.

Pearl found a rock to sit on. A nice, clean rock (for the most part). Garnet and Amethyst didn't mind taking a seat on the leaves. Steven found a large, spotted mushroom and squatted down to sit on that.

"Steven!" said Peridot, "Don't sit there, you'll crush Amy!"

Steven quickly stood back up and saw that the mushroom was, indeed, too small to accommodate his rump.

"You're right, Peridot," said Steven, "It's called a toadstool, not a human stool."

"That is indeed true, Steven," said Peridot.

"I was going to sit on it but there wasn't _mushroom_." Steven nudged Peridot in the shoulder and winked. Peridot responded with a roll of the eyes.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Steven, I did miss your terrible quips," said Peridot.

"What can I say? I am a… _fungi_."

"Peridot, start your story before he spouts any more terribly puns," said Amethyst.

"All right." Peridot sat down and looked at each of the gems. "My story starts when I chickened out on you guys. After defeating our previous enemy together, I had my little identity crisis and decided to leave you guys for a while. And by 'a while' I meant an indefinite amount of time. After leaving you that heartfelt note by the barn, I disappeared into the woods, far away from human civilization..."

On that sunny summer two years ago, Peridot walked solemnly through the trees, not looking back. She carried with her a bindle made from one of Steven's shirts, a wise decision since Steven had so many of the same shirt that he wouldn't notice if one had gone missing. She had left her phone and I-Pad with her farewell note to ensure that nobody would contact her. As she walked aimlessly through those woods, she had a weary, weakened look on her face. The mockingbird made a call that was diverse and unpredictable. There was rustling through the trees, perhaps a squirrel. Uneventful noises like this followed Peridot on her journey.

She eventually reached a point where she sat down on a felled tree to rest. She reached inside her bindle and took out a small, rectangular sheet. It was a slightly-bent string of photos that was taken at one of those photo booths at Fun Land. Each photo had her and Steven in different silly positions – tongues out, bunny ears, winks – but they all looked jovial.

"Oh, Steven," said Peridot, "Through it all, I can never get rid of you." She put the sheet back into her bindle and went on her way.

Peridot wandered farther and farther until the forest she knew eventually ended and she found herself on the side of a highway. She managed to wave down a white truck, although there was barely any room in the passenger seat. She had to make do with sitting inside the giant freezer in back along with the frozen food being transported.

The truck eventually stopped at a grocery store, where she escaped and walked away from the parking lot. Although she was back in civilization, she still desired to leave it. She walked cautiously so as to not draw attention to herself. Soon, she was back in the woods but this time, it was a different forest.

For several days and nights, she wandered with no rest, not that a gem needed any. She encountered roads along the way but otherwise, it was wilderness and she tried to stay away from any places where she could hear the clamoring of people and vehicles. She wandered behind houses and encountered family pets, none of which knew or cared about the tumultuous, millennia-long fight between Earth and Gem Homeworld.

She eventually encountered a bubbling stream. Water flowed over the rocks and smoothed them out over time. Peridot couldn't help but observe this natural phenomenon. She sat down and wrapped her arms around her legs, staring at her sad reflection, which managed to stay put no matter how fast the water rushed.

"It's like concentrated, sideways rain," she said. She touched it, obstructing some of the water. But the water never stopped; it just diverged and kept going. She tried this a few more times, looking more focused each time and keeping her fingers in the water for longer periods.

She continued her journey for a few more days, walking through a forest that seemingly never ended. All the while, she accumulated leaves in her hair and dirt on her feet. She was soon unable to keep up her normal pace of walking but kept going anyway. Like a car running out of gas, she walked slower and slower and slower until she finally collapsed on her face. She was sprawled out in the dirt and pine needles, unnoticed by anybody in the area.

Several minutes passed until… _POOF_.

Her sentient form disappeared and all that was left was the gem from her forehead. It landed several inches away from Steven's bundled-up t-shirt and the stick that was carrying it.

And so, her gem lay there for weeks, exposed to the unforgiving elements. Some days were windier than others. Some days were rainier than others. Animals and the smaller corrupted gems would come around and sniff at her gem and then leave when they found out that there was nothing edible in the bindle next to her. All the while, her gem became tarnished and dirty.

And then one day, a human came around. She was a woman with brown skin and long, fluffy dark hair dressed in colors that often didn't go together. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, old enough to be aware of how the world worked but young enough to have many years left ahead of her. She carried a bag with her filled with things that she found on the forest floor.

After scanning the ground, she came upon Peridot and her few material goods. The woman picked up the gem and held it between her thumb and index finger. She immediately noticed the bundle of goods next to it but didn't inspect it as much. Her face lit up in a smile and she felt the need to run back to where she came from.

And where she came from was right by the outskirts of civilization. The beaten path that she ran to lead to a property that was decorated with a sign that said "Lion's Mane Farm" with a painting of a drooping, anemone-like organism.

This trail lead to a house with a large, dirt driveway, large enough for big trucks to use.

"Cilantro!" she called, "Oh, Cilantro!"

Inside that house, in the colorfully-decorated living room, a lanky, middle-aged man dressed in jeans and an Aztec-inspired dashiki shirt sat in the middle of the imported rug with his eyes closed. He had light brown skin, salt-and-pepper hair that grew beyond his shoulders and a short beard that stuck out of his face and curled toward the sky. As he sat cross-legged, he kept his back straight and his hand rested on his knees with the middle fingers united with the thumbs.

"Ohm…" he chanted. He didn't so much end the saying of that word as he did let it trail off in a pleasant hum. He said it every minute or so.

"Cilantro!" called the chipper young woman. She pushed the screen door open so hard that it hit the wall with full force.

By that point, the man was so relaxed that he only reacted by opening his eyes – one blue and one brown – and blinking.

"Pranna, what did I say about interrupting my mantra?" he asked. He was supposed to be angry but those words came out as slow and only slightly stern.

"But… you have to see this!" she said. Without hesitation, she pulled the gem out of her pocket and held it up for Cilantro to see. "It looks like it belonged to someone. There's no way something this intricately cut could have come from nature."

"Well are you going to give it back to whoever had it?"

"I don't know… whoever had it must be long gone by now. If they truly wanted it, they would have come back for it. Something this pretty deserves to be used and not left on the ground."

"That is a good way to think of it, sister. Waste not, want not. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to being one with the universe."

Pranna took the gem into the other room. There was fabric everywhere along with a sewing machine, thread and bottles of dye. None of it was put back to where it was originally stored, resulting in a mess of things that constantly reminded people of where they were last used. She placed the gem on the well-worn wooden table, where there was a half-done beaded necklace. She kneeled by the side of the table and opened up a drawer where she pulled out a power drill.

When she plugged the power drill into the socket, she tested it out. With each squeeze of the trigger, the drill spun and emitted a grinding screech, which caused Pranna to smile.

Before her little art project could continue, the gem started to shake. Soon, it was glowing a bright green, causing Pranna to drop the drill in amazement.

"Oooooh," she said. She couldn't pry her eyes away from the sight even though it must have been detrimental to her vision. "Cilantro! Cilantro! You're not going to believe this!"

The gem floated to the center of the room like a spirit, where it was about to present its sentient form…


	22. The Mushroom Farm

Pranna leaned back and gripped the floor as she witnessed the transformation of the gem she found in the forest. The ball of light that surrounded the gem formed into an amorphous blob that gradually took on a mannequin-like form, one that resembled either an older child or a shorter-than-average woman. Finally, the head took on the familiar diamond shape.

Cilantro managed to arrive at the doorway and move the draping beads in the doorframe just in time for this being to reveal herself. When her color and details returned, she landed on her feet and touched the ground in a squat position. Although her outfit still had light green sleeves and a darker green on her torso and legs, the black and yellow disappeared in her new form, revealing a very basic look that was like sleeveless footie pajamas. Gone were any symbols of diamonds or anything else that spoke of her outer space origins. However, her hairstyle was the same as it ever was.

She looked at the unshaven man by the door and then over her shoulder at the colorful woman who still looked shocked. She felt her cheeks to confirm that, indeed, her visor wasn't there anymore. Her eyes shrank in horror at the thought of that part of her face being completely exposed.

"Whoa…" said Cilantro, "An astral being has graced our presence." He was not at all surprised at this sudden turn of events, as if he had seen much stranger things in his life.

"He… hello," said Peridot.

"Goodness!" said Pranna, "And to think that I was about to make a necklace out of you!"

Peridot clutched her hands and looked around the room one last time. She bit her lower lip. Her cautious nature then led to her shoulders and hands relaxing to their normal state.

"There's no use in running away," she said, "I know you people aren't going to hurt me."

"We make a statement not to harm any animal here," said Cilantro.

"I'm not exactly what you'd call an animal."

"We can tell, sweetie," said Pranna, "Animals typically don't talk."

Peridot spent that moment staring at Cilantro and back at Pranna. Cilantro and Pranna seemed to respect this time where she processed the new environment and her new form.

"Where am I?" she finally asked.

"Why you just happen to be at Lion's Mane Farm, the famous grower and distributor of mushroom products for both medical and culinary purposes. My name is Cilantro Noriega."

"And I'm his assistant, Pranna Patil," said Pranna.

"So… this is a farm," said Peridot, "I am quite familiar with farms but I've never been to one that cultivated what you earthlings call mushrooms"

"And it's the official business headquarters. C'mon, I'll show you around."

"Wait!" said Pranna, "Are you sure you don't want to rest? Or drink some tea?"

"No thanks," said Peridot, "I don't need either of those things."

Cilantro took Peridot outside. Both of them stepped in the dirt without anything on their feet and neither of them minded.

"I am a PhD in genetic sciences with a minor in mycology. I've been on this plot of land for quite a while and it manages to sustain me just as much as I sustain her."

"Steven showed me what mushrooms were," said Peridot.

"Steven?"

Peridot stopped walking rubbed the back of her head. She blushed a little. "Oh, he was an old friend of mine. He taught me a lot about your planet. Anyway, he showed me what mushrooms were and I didn't think they had much of a use since they were just plants that stuck out of the ground not doing anything. So why do you dedicate your life to something that doesn't do anything."

"Not doing anything?!" Cilantro was so startled by this that he felt the need to stop walking. "Sister, mushrooms do _everything_. First of all, they are not plants."

"So… they're animals?"

"Nope, they don't belong to that kingdom, either. They're their own thing. In fact, they predate most plants and land-dwelling animals and will most likely be here along after we're gone. They exist everywhere – in the dirt, in the water, in your body and, eventually, on your food. Even when they're not helping in the decomposition process and assuring that the cycle of life goes on, they can improve your health, filter the soil and water and alter the fabric of reality as we know it."

"Excuse me… alter the fabric of reality? I was under the impression that human technology hasn't gone that far."

"I'll tell you more about that later. In the meantime, I have yet to show you the fruits of my labor."

Cilantro brought Preridot to a small stony wall with a door. This door had large spots where its grey paint had been stripped off and the stony wall looked like it predated the door by many decades, perhaps even centuries. Cilantro took the large key out of his pants and opened the door to reveal a stairway. At first, only the top steps could be seen but then he flipped a switch to reveal the rest of the way.

The two of them went downstairs until they reached a room that was pitch black. Once those sets of lights were turned on, not only was everything in the room revealed but the sheer size of it was made apparent as well. Ahead of them lay a large, arching stone tunnel. On the sides were shelves upon shelves of plastic bags full of the darkest dirt and sprouting from that dirt were bouquets of mushrooms of all types, each reaching out to greet the world, or at least what little of it they could experience from being underground.

Peridot was mesmerized by it all, not enough for stars to appear in her pupils but mesmerized nonetheless. This was all a labor of love, both love for the blossoming clumps of fungus and love for the people that desired to use them.

"All of these are my children," said Cilantro. His voice echoed in the old tunnel, "They don't have names and they will be consumed in some form or another but they are my children nonetheless."

Peridot walked over to one of the bouquets of mushrooms and touched it, having an entirely new outlook on the creatures that she had originally ignored in favor of those who could move and make noise.

Every type of mushroom imaginable was in there and Cilantro showed Peridot as many as he could. He spoke of them and spouted facts with such ease; he had memorized them but not mindlessly. She learned of the growth process of fungus – how they start off as tiny spores that then combine with soil and sawdust to make spawn, which then become thread-like mycelium, which then grow into above-ground mushrooms.

When they went aboveground, Peridot saw how Cilantro prepared the compost to feed his "children." It was a series of large wooden crates filled to the brim with dark soil and bits and pieces of rotting organic matter. He climbed a small set of stairs stirred them with a large shovel.

"Another reason why mushrooms are so interesting is that they have a lot in common with people," said Cilantro.

"How so?" asked Peridot.

"They're kept in the dark and fed filth."

"Oooh… yes, that is quite the observation."

"Usually I get a laugh or two out of that one."

Once Cilantro descended the steps, he took off his gloves and tossed them on the ground. He was satisfied in completing his task and it didn't look like he considered the mixing of literal filth to be what anyone would define as a chore.

"So, you've shown me mushrooms that feed, heal, clean, all that other stuff. What about these mushrooms that alter the fabric of reality?"

"Good question, Star Child. We're coming to my favorite part of the tour."

Cilantro and Peridot returned to the tunnel and walked past all of the mushroom species that Peridot became familiar with a little while ago. They eventually came upon a locked door that was not illuminated by the string of lights that decorated the rest of the mushroom nursery. It had some other purpose in some past era but was now used for something special. Cilantro pulled his set of keys out of his pocket and jiggled the lock until the door popped open.

He turned on a new string of lights which revealed a set of wooden tables. On one of these tables were textbooks and guides on advanced-level genetics. There were posters on the wall with things such as the periodic table of elements and a diagram showing the anatomy of a mushroom. What stood out the most were the multiple plastic terrariums filled with brownish-grey dirt. What this dirt harbored were bunches of mushrooms with tall stems and brown caps. Others had thin stems and bulbous caps. They didn't look particularly threatening or different from the other mushrooms but there was clearly more that Peridot had to find out.

"What are these?" she asked, "They look like regular mushrooms."

Cilantro smiled, causing his whiskers to move up his face.

"These specimens are psilocybin mushrooms, a.k.a. magic mushrooms. They're my secret stash and unlike my others, I don't commercially sell them."

"So you grow them for yourself?"

"Yes but also for those who hear about this part of my business."

"So how exactly do these fungi alter the state of reality?"

"They are hallucinogens, Star Child. Do you know what it means to hallucinate?"

Peridot squinted her eyes and looked to her right. "No."

"Do you know what an illusion is?"

Peridot perked up like she used to upon thinking of her former hero Yellow Diamond. "Of course! In fact, I'm an illusion."

"We're off to a good start then. Upon ingesting these mushrooms, your brain becomes hyperconnected. It binds to the receptors of the neurotransmitter serotonin."

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar enough with the human brain to understand any of what you said."

"You see and feel things that have always been there but the brain normally doesn't open up to. Once you take some of these babies, not only does your brain become hyperconnected but so do you. You see yourself as just one small part of the big equation known as the cosmos but at the same time, you will feel just as important and purposeful as the trees and the ocean and the stars."

Peridot paused to contemplate what she heard.

"Star Child, what makes up your being? I am made from oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus, all of which make up my blood, bones and organs. What are you made of?"

"Well, that's easy." Peridot closed her eyes, smiled and waved around her hand as she explained. "I am a rock-based being made from fayalite and forsterite, with my sentient form made of pure light and mass."

"Nice. Since you're made of stone, then that automatically gives you a connection to the land where you came from. Your light body gives you a connection to other sources of light."

"Like fire… electricity… and the sun!"

"See? This is easy. When taking shrooms, you feel that sort of oneness and more. It's a oneness with everything." Cilantro walked up to one of the terrariums and plucked one of the mushrooms. He inspected its underside in the light. "Thanks to the spiritual insight that psilocybin has given me, I can tell you that I'm no longer afraid of anything."

"No longer afraid of anything? Well there has to be something that you're still afraid of."

"I've been shown that my problems are miniscule in relation to everything else in the universe, so it's become hard to be afraid or worried."

"What about death? I know that you carbon-based life forms don't last forever like gems do."

"Death is simply existence in another form. Our bodies feed the soil and become part of the plants and then part of the animals. Our atoms become incorporated into new molecules. We all generate energy and energy has always existed and will continue to exist after death."

"But what about your mind?"

"My conscience, you mean? Well one can only assume that it ends up where it resided from the beginning of space and time to the moment that I was born."

"And where is that?"

"You'll understand once your mind is good and open, Star Child."

Peridot's expression sank a little.

When they left the tunnel and ventured back into the sunlight, Peridot noticed another entrance that had eluded her earlier. Two trees had grown branches that were large enough to cover another door attached to a small rocky wall. Warnings of "KEEP OUT" and "DANGER" sprawled the door through the branches. She took some time to look at it before moving on.

When they returned to the living room, Cilantro decided to entertain Peridot in the same way as he would if he were a man born into old money. Except, instead of opening his liquor cabinet and offering Peridot scotch, he opened up a green cabinet on the floor to reveal jars of crushed herbs and bags of dried mushrooms. He opened one of the bags carefully and took out a couple of bits.

"Now," he said, "I'm not sure how old you are…"

"I'm far older than you, Mr. Cilantro. And even if I wasn't, I was just like this from the moment of my creation. You don't have to worry about me being too young or too old to do stuff."

"Heh… all right." The man simply accepted this explanation without questioning any further. "I think it's about time that you experienced the wonders of magic mushrooms." He took a bit of dried mushroom and handed it to her.

Peridot backed away and looked sheepish while doing so.

"Er… how do I put this?" she asked, "I'm an Era 2 Peridot, sir. Other gems can shapeshift means of consuming nourishment whenever they feel like it but I do not have that ability. So I guess I can't experience all these fantastical things that you speak of."

Cilantro stared at her for a few seconds but not in a way where he found he unusual or threatening.

"That's too bad. You can at least hang out here while Pranna and I relax and travel to the Fungosphere."

"In the meantime, why don't you let your hair down?" asked Pranna.

"Let my hair down?" asked Peridot. She asked as though she didn't know that hair could be manipulated in this way.

"Yeah. You surely don't need shapeshifting for that. Here, let me get a brush." Pranna quickly went to her room. When she returned, she had a brush that had hairs sticking out of it from repeated use.

She started brushing Peridot's diamond-shaped hair, causing her to body to awkwardly stiffen. The style upon her head was undergoing changes that she was just finding out were possible. As Pranna brushed, Peridot's blonde hair lost its form and fell toward her shoulders. All the while, she made buzzing noises through her teeth to express her uncertainty.

When Pranna was done, she handed Peridot a mirror.

"Well?" she said, "How do you look?"

"Peridot saw her face in the mirror and was taken aback but then posed the mirror so that she could have a good look at as many sides of her face as possible. She smiled.

"I can't believe I'm looking at me," she said, "I'm so different, so… free."

"That's the spirit!" said Cilantro, "Now let's get high! Or in your case, you can pretend to get high."

Peridot didn't so much as pretend to get high as she did sit back and take notes. Cilantro took some balls of dried herb material and used a piece of paper to crush it into tiny bits.

"This plant material has a scent that resembles that of the earth animal skunk," she wrote on her pad of paper.

Cilantro took some of the crushed herbs and carefully placed it into a ceramic pipe. When he lit the side of it, he inhaled from the other side. He held in his breath for about five seconds before letting out a smoky sigh. Pranna took the pipe and inhaled some of the smoking herbs so she could open up that cosmic door using the porcelain key.

Before long, they relaxed on their respective pillows. After a few more puffs, Pranna started giggling for no apparent reason. Cilantro looked like an invisible being was giving him the greatest massage of his life.

"I'm going to get some snacks," said Pranna.

She got up and stumbled to the kitchen. She came back with a bag of popcorn crisps which she opened. She sat back onto her pillow and put a few of the triangle-shaped crisps into her mouth. On the fourth crisp, she decided to study the foodstuff like a scientist examining a piece of bark. She was positively enamored by it. It consumed her whole world.

"Corn is so weird," she said, "Can you think of any other vegetable that pops and changes shape when exposed to heat?"

"They're, like, the butterflies of the vegetable world."

"But those don't pop."

"They do in a way…" He took another puff and exhaled, causing the air to become smokier. "I think it would be nice if humans could pop… to become something entirely different…"

All the while, both their eyes were becoming bloodshot. They looked as though they had some sort of illness, one that they enjoyed every minute of. Peridot hadn't been visually engaged in something since she first saw Camp Pining Hearts.

Peridot took note of some more gems in their conversation, including…

"What is time exactly?" asked Pranna, "Is everyone's perception of time different? Do you experiment time differently than me?"

"That could be it, Pranna," said Cilantro, "A tortoise moves through life veeeeeeery sloooooooowly. That's probably why they live so much longer than us."

"So then cheetas and peregrine falcons should live very short lives. Why don't they?"

"Nature has secrets that she's not willing to share. Not yet, anyway."

Some time later, Cilantro took one of his bags of dried mushrooms and split it among himself and Pranna. They each popped them in their mouths and waited a bit. They were still high from the herbs, so they had something to distract them until the new drug kicked in. One of those things was the existential conversation they were having.

"What?" asked Pranna.

''What?" replied Cilantro.

"What?"

"What?"

This went on for a half hour… until the mushrooms started kicking in.

At this point, they spent the rest of the time starring into space with eye that were dilated like a fish.

"There are slugs on my fingers," said Cilantro.

"Last time, it was spiders," said Pranna, "I like slugs better."

Peridot noted this talk of invisible insects and how consuming mushrooms somehow attracted them. Or were these insects on the inside of their skin? Why would a human want to feel insects on their skin anyway? So many questions were being evoked.

Pranna couldn't help herself. She crawled up to Peridot and gave her a big, suffocating bear hug.

"I love you," she said.

Peridot squirmed a little before deciding to stop resisting.

"But we just got to know each other," she said.

"I don't need to hug anybody," boasted Cilantro, "I already feel warmth and love from everything. I am she and you are she as you are me and we are all together."

"I'm… not even going to argue with that," said Peridot.

"You don't need hugs?" asked Pranna, "But I have so many to give." Pranna crawled up to Cilantro and rested on his body as he sank into his pillow. She pressed her nose against his and smiled.

He was already smiling but his smile grew bigger.

"All right," he said, "Maybe from you."

At this point, they locked lips and wrapped their arms around each other. They made delighted humming noises as they showed their affection, becoming as close as humanly possible.

Peridot showed an expression of discomfort at this turn of events.

"Is this what scientists and scientific assistants do?" she asked, "They fuse? You know humans can't fuse, right?"

Cilantro and Pranna couldn't hear her. They were lost in their drugs – and each other – and had no interest in finding their way out.

"That's enough note-taking for today," said Peridot. She quietly got up and moved the purple beads that were obscuring the doorway (where a door would usually be) so she could leave the room.

Throughout the day, Peridot learned and did more than she did for the entire past month, when most of her days consisted of running from everyone she knew. Now, she was no longer pressing forward into unfamiliar places. She found herself in a home with welcoming people, even if they were a tad different than the other humans around. Were these humans the type that Cousin Andy hated? Hippies, he called them? Why would he hate people who did far less harm to her than The Crystal Gems did? She couldn't ask now. All she could do was wait for Cilantro and Pranna to finish what they were doing so she could muster an idea of where to go and what she could do next.


	23. Forbidden Knowledge

The sun had gone down on Lion's Mane Farm and the woodlands surrounding it had become more mysterious. The only thing that was certain were that the overlapping chirping noises were made by crickets. Peridot managed to acquire an article of clothing that went along with her brushed-down hair; a lacy, flowery white top which belonged to Pranna. Peridot starred at the forest even though the only things that were not obscured by the darkness was some of the bark on the trees.

Cilantro and Pranna had cleaned up their dinner, which Peridot had sat and observed part of. Pranna was cleaning the dishes when she noticed that Peridot still hadn't come back to the house.

"Do you think we should talk to her?" she asked.

"I should talk to her," said Cilantro as she put the spices back into the cabinet.

Cilantro walked onto the porched and stood in the same direction as Peridot. He also rested his arms on the railing just like she did.

"I can tell that something is bothering you, Peridot," said Cilantro.

Peridot groaned a bit.

"It's nothing, really," she said.

"C'mon, Star Child. I hate to see a creature bearing such a lovely gemstone on her body looking so melancholy."

Peridot sighed. "If you want to know the truth, it's because I don't know where I'm going right now. I was originally friends with The Crystal Gems."

"Oh, those three cosmic women in that beachside tourist town. I've met one of them."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The eight-foot-tall one with the puffy pink hair stopped by my parents' van once. I remember her being very gracious and fearless. But we mustn't change the subject. Please continue."

"Anyway, The Crystal Gems do all that they can to protect this planet from outside threats. They saved me from my old life and they taught me things like the importance of peace and love and music. They saved me from my old life."

"Peace, love and music are all good things. So why did you run away from them?"

"It's because I don't know which side to be on. I would tell you more about my past but then you might not like me."

"I like you the way you are right now. I don't think telling me about the person you used to be is going to change my mind about that."

The Current Peridot closed her eyes for a few seconds before coming clean about the Old Peridot. "All right. I used to work for an intergalactic government and what I used to do is that I would create life."

Cilantro turned his head toward Peridot and listened intently. His brown and blue eyes opened a bit more than usual, almost owl-like. "Go on…"

"The empire would go from planet to planet mining resources so that more sentient gems such as myself could be made. This drained the planets of their life force, ultimately destroying them. I used to be a certified kindergartner, one of the makers of the quartz soldiers that would help us with our cause. I didn't particularly care that I was destroying the life already living on those planets. To me, it was at best, something that occurred in the background and, at worst, a violent obstacle that needed to be overcome. I was mostly following orders, lest I be punished.

"I was like this until recently, when a gem/human hybrid by the name of Steven showed me something that I never felt before. He showed me love and kindness. It made me not want to destroy his home. From there, I decided to disavow my leader Yellow Diamond to her face. I couldn't go back to the way I used to be so I joined their side."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Well… I feel like I only joined their side because I can't go back to the side of Homeworld. Part of me feels like I'm only protecting Earth because they're telling me to. Truth is, I barely know this planet. I only know about the abandoned Kindergartens and the town where Steven and the gems live. Why should I protect a planet just for them?"

"Peridot, where did you come from?"

Peridot looked up with intrigue peppered with a little impatience. "Why are you answering my question with another question?"

"I just want to know where you come from."

"Well… like all gems, I was created on a planet in a kindergarten."

"So you were created, just like the quartz soldiers. Judging from the artificial nature of your origins, I would wager a guess that an advanced race of people invented your kind."

"I don't know. I was never programmed with that knowledge."

"Well I highly doubt that you created yourselves. If you were, indeed, created by an advanced race of people, those people must have been organic beings that evolved over millions of years."

"Evolved?"

"Yes. Humans haven't always looked this way. We came from a smaller, less-intelligent species whose form changed based on environment. We've been doing this since all the way back in the beginning, when we were single-celled organisms living on a planet of limited oxygen."

"So your kind was once punier and weaker than it is now?

"Well, all things have to star out somewhere, Star Child. It seems to me that you don't appreciate how truly unique life is in this huge universe. There are countless millions of planets and stars within countless millions of galaxies. Out of all of those, only a handful of planets have exactly the right conditions to support life. They need to have the right atmosphere, the right chemical reactions, the right sources of nourishment and be at exactly the right amount of distance away from the star that they orbit. The fact that Earth and whichever planet your kind comes from has met all these conditions is nothing short of a miracle."

Peridot took this time to look at the sky. The house was situated in an area where the night sky was unobstructed by the ugly artificial lighting of civilization. All of the stars could be seen. They were etching a wide path across the sky along with areas that were bright enough so that they looked like they were opening up to swallow something.

"I never really thought of that," said Peridot, "On my journeys, I never saw very many planets that were quite like Earth. For all I know, many of them were probably destroyed by the Gem Empire before I was even created."

"Well it's not too late for this one. I have faith in it. We all have things in our past that we regret and we can move on from those."

"Trust me, I have for the most part."

"But those past regrets can give us valuable knowledge, which we can use for good."

"How can the knowledge of how to create gem soldiers using the Earth's resources do any good other than for a select few?"

"Technology is morally neutral. It's only the intent of its use that makes it beneficial or destructive. Take genetically-modified organisms, for example. People in my social group are largely against them. They can be used to make corporations money at the risk of losing biodiversity or eroding people's health. But it doesn't have to be that way. When put in the right hands, genetically-modified organisms can help the planet and its people. It could produce better food and housing and answer questions that we've been pondering about the natural world."

"So you respect nature… but also like tinkering with it?"

"Exactly. It's good to leave nature alone to do its own thing but we forget that nature likes doing random genetic experimentation of her own. If you want proof, just look at my eyes."

Peridot took a look at Cilantro's dual-colored eyes again. "You do stand out from the other humans in that way."

"So I figure, if nature can do it, why not us? We've evolved these brains. Why not use them? Not only do I grow mushrooms but I experiment with crossbreeds and even breed new types of hallucinogenic mushrooms that have varying effects."

"Like?"

"Like this one type I made that has the opposite effect on you from a normal hallucinogenic mushroom. Instead of making you feel at one with everything, it splits you up into parts. I created it with the intent that maybe people could understand themselves a bit more if they look at themselves that way, whether as a personality type or yourself from the past."

"Well… even if it was physically possible for me to ingest these mushrooms, I think I'd rather not interact with my past self. After all, I've been trying to get away from her."

"But you have to admit, your past self still learned things that may be harmful at the time but prove useful later on."

"Yeah… I guess…"

"Very useful…" With that, Cilantro turned around and walked back into the house. The only words that could be heard when he got inside were, "Pranna, do you think I could talk to you in private?"

Twenty minutes passed and Peridot twiddled her thumbs the entire time. She tried whistling but she never did have the mouth for it. An owl vocalized from the darkness. Its soothing call could calm the nerves of any person who was nervous about the nature of a certain secret conversation.

Cilantro and Pranna opened the screen door and walked onto the porch. Both of them had smiles on their faces.

"Peridot," said Ciltantro, "Pranna and I have decided that we would like you to study under us and help us run our business."

Peridot stood up and burst into a smile herself.

"Really?!" she asked, "But… how? Why me?"

"Well, Star Child, we see a lot of potential in you. You're the kind of person who is not only actively searching for her place in the universe, you're also someone who actively looks for meaning and significance when it comes to this planet. Even though you didn't know much about life earlier, even though you didn't know why you wanted to protect Earth, you didn't just give up on it. You wanted to know it. You wanted to find a reason to protect it and cherish it. Getting a chance to understand one of Earth's most amazing organisms would put you on the path to doing that."

"And besides," said Pranna, "You look like you have nowhere else to go."

Peridot grinned. This time, she had her Steven Universe-trademarked stars in her eyes.

"I have potential…" she said.

And, from there, her journey into mycology had begun. What Cilantro had told her about those mushrooms wasn't all there was to learn about these fascinating organisms. There were many more species and subspecies out there, almost as many as there were types of gem. During her time on the farm, she got used to the rhythms of nature, such as the eating and sleeping cycles that her human companions were experiencing. But the mushrooms had their own cycles as well, which included eating (but not with their mouths) and growing, the latter of which would happen quite fast compared to other creatures.

She also learned the business aspect of the whole operation. Once the mushrooms were nice and ready, she would harvest them, clean them, dry them, chop them up and send them off to a packaging plant so they could be sold in stores. As a helper, she would escort certain costumers to the underground tunnel so that they could purchase the special mushrooms that couldn't be found in stores. All in all, she found purpose in what she was doing and felt a bit closer to the planet that she swore to protect.

But then there was the cellar.

During Peridot's foray into mushroom-farming, she kept passing by the cellar with the "KEEP OUT" sign. She would have simply ignored it if it weren't for the fact that every so often, she saw Cilantro and Pranna move the bushes aside and venture down there. Every time, they made sure to shut the door behind them so she hadn't a clue what was going on. Every time she would bring it up to Cilantro, he would either change the subject or say "That doesn't concern you right now." She would ask him why the thing behind that cellar door was top secret to her but the secret farm where the illegal mushrooms grew wasn't, and he would still give that answer.

And then it hit her: all this time, she could have easily found out on her own because of her metal-manipulation abilities. After a year and a half, she was finally going to use them.

The clock read 11:30 on that cold spring night. As Peridot ventured into the house's backyard, the wild wind whipped her blonde hair and whistled an erratic tune. She had faced far more dangerous things than wind or darkness, so she carried on. She treated the flashlight in her hands like it was a useful function from the days of her limb enhancers. But it could only fight a narrow cylinder of darkness. It had to do.

When she came upon the cellar door, she confronted it with all the dignity of a knight about to slay a dragon.

"All right, forbidden thing," said Peridot, "Cilantro is willing to imbibe on me the secrets of the universe, various meditation techniques and which species of cactus make the best juice but he's not keeping me from you!"

She tossed the flashlight onto the ground, stood legs apart and held out the palms of her small hands. She concentrated intently on the right side of the door, opposite of the hinges, as well as the top of the door. As she used her power, she groaned a bit and twitched her eye.

Little by little, the side and top of the steel door was starting to cave in. This was a heavy door, so she had to work harder than usual. Over the next five minutes, she made progress but at certain points, she nearly resorted to going up to the door and physically pushing it while using her powers. However, for the most part, she had trust in her abilities.

Soon, the side of the door caved in enough so that it popped open. What Peridot saw was a stony stairwell. It wouldn't have been out the ordinary if it weren't for the eery buzzing and unnaturally green light that was flashing from an unseen area of the room. She was being rewarded for making use of her gem powers after all this time. She couldn't turn back now.


	24. Project Rib Cage

When Peridot ventured down the stony steps, she saw the sources of the glowing: a terrarium filled with different types of mushrooms, some hallucinogenic, some not. The glowing and buzzing came from wires transferring electric shocks to the mushrooms. She didn't know where this source of electricity was coming from or why it was the color that it was. This flashing was not enough to quench Peridot's thirst for answers, so she flipped the light switch.

All around her were tables, much like in the illegal mushroom room, except there were major differences in the contents on those tables. It was nothing like what one would see on a mushroom farm; there were beakers along with clear plastic tubing that curled from one container to another. Peridot walked over to a part of the table that had on it petri dishes and a microscope. One of those petri dishes had clear liquid with fuzzy, red blotches growing in it. She spotted a small vial with red liquid in it that looked viscous. When she did some more digging around, she found a sandwich baggy that most certainly did not contain a sandwich. Instead, it was a crescent-shaped object that looked like it was clear at one time but was now heavily soiled. The baggy was labeled with the words, "The Source."

The walls were covered with posters. Some were mushroom-related but she also saw the periodic table of elements and a copy of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. Another was a diagram of the human brain. Yet another was a diagram of the DNA helix. Peridot couldn't possibly guess what this had to do with Cilantro's day job. She kept snooping around but was starting to quiver from the unsettling nature of it all.

Right next to the tank of shocked mushrooms was a cylinder-shaped container that was about the size of her. It was surrounded by clear glass and had all manners of wires, as if it were supporting something in more ways than one. At this point, there was no change in Peridot's look of befuddlement. She had walked in on a secret and yet, at the same time, nothing was really revealed since she couldn't make sense out of it.

"Peridot?" she heard a familiar voice call from the top of the stairs.

Oh no! Peridot had to hide. She was small enough to seek refuge under one of the tables. She wrapped her arms around her legs and curled up as much as she could, although anybody could easily spot her under there.

Cilantro slowly stepped downstairs with his electric lantern shining like a tiny, artificial star. After turning it off, he surveyed the perimeters, starting with the other side of the room.

"I know you're down here…" he said.

Peridot gulped. Soon, he came to the area where she was hiding. She could do nothing more than stay completely still.

"Ha!" said Cilantro. Although she was expecting this to happen, Peridot was still surprised by the hippie man's face as he crouched down to greet her under the table. "Don't think you can hide from me Star Child!"

Peridot uncurled her body. She crawled out from under the table and owned up to her breaking in on his secret.

"I'm sorry, Cilantro!" she said, "I really, really wanted to know what was in this secret room! The sign on the door positively enticed me with its angry words. I'm a gem, Cilantro. If something down here was truly a threat to a human's safety, a gem could surely take it. I'm not weak and soft like you are… no offense."

Cilantro gazed at the room and then back at the unhinged door.

"I'm not really angry," said Cilantro, "In fact, I'm impressed. How did you get through this bolted metal door?"

"I have metal-controlling mental abilities. I guess I should have told you that earlier."

"Heh… You learn something new every day."

Peridot should have known that Cilantro wasn't one to get angry. Or have any significant emotion for that matter.

"You picked a pretty good time to barge in on the secret experiment, Star Child."

"I have?"

"You've been with us for long enough so that Pranna and I could trust you with it. Not only that, you've proven yourself knowledgeable enough so that you could help us as well."

Peridot perked up at the idea of helping with a scientific experiment. It had been so long since she had an opportunity to help with anything of the sort. "Of course I'll help you!" She then calmed down a little before jumping into the metaphorical swimming pool. "But I don't even know what it is."

Cilantro walked over to one of the tables, which had a thin drawer attached to its underside. He pulled out the drawer, which revealed piles of papers, along with a large, rolled-up sheet of paper. The drawer almost refused to open it was so packed and cluttered.

"What we have here is my magnum opus," he said as he slid the rolled-up piece of paper out of the drawer. "It's what all my years studying biology and mushroom cultivation have lead to. It's my Theory of Relativity, my Ninth Symphony… I could go on. It goes by the name Project Ribcage."

Peridot accepted the large, rolled-up piece of paper from him as if it were a sacred artifact. She unrolled it to find that they were blueprints. Cilantro spent the next twenty or so minutes explaining the experiment to her in great detail and what he wanted to achieve through this.

After Peridot glanced over the blueprints, she looked up at Cilantro, smacked with disbelief.

"Knowing what you and I know, this experiment is bound to be humanity's next brave step, whether we want it or not. Our world is in need of something like this and I don't see anyone else bringing it about."

"Cilantro," she said.

"Yeah?"

"What I'm hearing normally wouldn't impress me. The only reason it does is because, well… you're a human. I knew you were a smart man but… how are you so sure you can do this? For years, I've seen humans as puny, primitive life forms cultivating and tending to punier, more primitive life forms. But you… you want to go above and beyond."

Cilantro pushed his wrists against the table and bowed his head. It looked like now he was having something similar to an emotion. "Isn't that what we all want, though? Don't we want improvement? Look at humans today with their convenient gadgets and skyscrapers – all of those things that exist outside of ourselves - and tell me that this isn't the case. The reason I keep you here on this farm is because you're the perfect person to help out with this project. So what do you say?"

Peridot scratched her cheek. "I can help you but…"

"But what?"

"I feel like I'm a different gem than I once was. I wanted to stay here and understand how the Earth works and protect it from harm."

"But if you paid attention to my explanation, by helping me, you're doing _just that_."

Peridot stood there in silence for a full minute. The wind started to pick up again outside.

"Cilantro, you've been an excellent teacher to me these past few years. In return, I am more than willing to use the skills that I already had to help you and maybe teach _you_ a few things. So, yes. I will do it."

Cilantro turned around and smiled. "That's good to hear. I'm happy to have found a creature like you."

"But why all the secrecy? If humans love progress so much, why is what you're doing illegal?"

"Well, there are all sorts of regulations when it comes to scientific funding. When I finally got my PhD, I submitted my idea to the National Science Foundation in order to request funding. Well, they took one look at it and promptly turned it down. They said that there were ethical implications for what I was doing and that what I was doing violated a national law. Looking closely at that law, I found that I was not violating anything. I figured that, since Uncle Sam won't fund me, I guess I had to fund myself. I certainly wasn't going to spend that time arguing with the NSF. So I started up this farm and funded this experiment by selling mushroom products. It took well over a decade but I eventually got to the point where my experiment could begin, especially since I had hired Pranna, who was originally an intern. I set it up in one of the back rooms of the mushroom cellar and all was well."

Peridot sat on the ground cross-legged. She knew that there was more to this story that had yet to be told.

"One day, I had a plumber come over to check by pipes, which required him to walk around most of the cellar where the mushrooms grew. Once he left, he dropped his pen. It was only when I picked it up that I figured out where this man came from."

"Where did he come from?" asked Peridot.

Cilantro's content expression darkened into a stern one. "The Central Intelligence Agency. Apparently, they had been tapping into the correspondences between me and other people involved with this project, possibly for as long as I had been trying to fund it myself. At that point, I made sure to hide the experiment in a different place but by then, it was too late. Once the experiment was in full-swing, I got a letter from The CIA."

"What did it say?"

Cilantro's stern look grew sharper and more foreboding. "It told me that it was aware of the work that I was doing and that it was illegal. The letter then said that I could have all charges against me waved if I cease my work and hand the experiment over to them. They wanted to keep it in their custody so that nobody would steal or sabotage such a powerful thing. This sounded like noble reasoning but I saw through their façade. They were the ones who they claimed they wanted to protect it from. The CIA wants to use it for their own nefarious purposes, to further things like the military and prison industrial complexes. I wrote back to them, telling them that they can take their request and shove it up the other end of their digestives systems."

"Well… I guess that's an understandable reason that you would keep it a secret."

"A couple days ago, I received a new letter. It was a cease and desist notice. They told me that this was their final warning before taking me into custody. It's not so much a matter of if Pranna and I caught but _when_." By now, Cilantro looked weary. This explanation was making him exhausted. His constant drug use made it seem like he had his emotions under control but they still existed like they would in other people. However, instead of letting his emotion out into the world, he let it eat away at him bit by bit. "Star Child, this past year and a half have shown me that you are a kind, intelligent, responsible little lady. When Pranna and I are nabbed by the law enforcement, I want you to continue the experiment in secrecy if it is at all possible. This includes finding that secret ingredient that I need to really make this happen."

Peridot trembled. Her mouth quivered.

"Yes," she said, "I will do it. As your intern, I will stay faithful to your life's work, so help me Diamond." Peridot then gave the diamond salute before noticing that a bit of her life that she wanted to leave behind was showing. "Hehe… sorry, force of habit."

Cilantro smiled and chuckled. "I knew I could count on you."

"And besides, I know exactly the ingredient that is needed in this experiment of yours." Peridot forced a confident smile.

"Well, knowing your kind, you have all the time in the universe to find it. You can do whatever you like but I'm going back to bed."

Cilantro left assuming that Peridot would follow. Peridot stood there, continuing to smile, mostly to herself. Her smile then turned into a nervous smirk.

"What are the implications of what I just agreed to?" she asked.

For those past two weeks, Peridot continued to help with tending to the mushrooms but also helped with the infamous experiment. The secret ingredient that she needed was something that was far away so she decided to wait before adding that part. In the meantime, the experiment had many more components to it than just what she needed to add, many of them beyond her understanding. But no matter: she was there to learn.

…that is, until that day came.

Peridot was pretending to sleep (since she had nothing better to do) in the mushroom tunnel when she heard the sounds of helicopter propellers pummeling the air. Soon, there were more of them. Then they became louder. This was followed by the sounds of wailing sirens, at which point, the door to the tunnel was pushed open, allowing light to shine through toward the stairs.

"Peridot!" said Cilantro.

Peridot rushed onto her feet and headed toward the stairs, where she saw her mentor with a shaking body and eyes sunken with terror. She had never seen this otherwise calm man in such a terrified state. Things were getting serious.

"Are they here?" asked Peridot.

"I think you know the answer to that."

The police had gotten out of their vehicles and stood around the property. It had been a while since the pleasant woods had seen this much action, if at all.

"Cilantro Noriega, Pranna Patil and Peridot… er... no last name given, you are under arrest," said one of the officers over the megaphone, "Please come out with your hands up."

"Now is the time to grab the experiment and get outta here," said Cilantro, "You remember what we've discussed, right?"

"That you'll distract them with your surrender?" asked Peridot.

"Yeah."

"Why can't you just run away? That will distract them enough and they will be less likely to notice me when I'm running off with the experiment."

"There's no point in doing that since they'll catch me and search the premises anyway. Now grab that experiment and run into the woods before they get you!"

Peridot ran past Cilantro and toward the door to the forbidden cellar. She fumbled with the keys a bit before forcefully turning them in the lock. She struggled a bit with the heavy door but eventually made it downstairs. There was no time for dilly-dallying: she had to grab the terrarium of mushrooms along with the machine that was imbibing them with jolts of electricity. She made sure to turn the machine off before carrying both in her arms. She was quite strong for someone her size and could carry the two items easily, although they still blocked her vision.

She ran up the forested hill behind the property, making sure to avoid any trees. She reached the top of the hill, at which point, she felt that it was safe to turn around and watch the scene play out behind her.

The house looked like a model from where she was and the people like moving figures. Cilantro's diversion had worked: nobody had noticed the green-skinned girl escaping with the experiment. Even the helicopters were focused on the sight of the aged hippie and his lovely assistant being unceremoniously escorted to a police car. She saw this just out of the gap between the terrarium and the electricity machine.

"Goodbye, Cilantro, goodbye, Pranna," she said, "I promise to continue your work but I am off to different things." A tear slid down her cheek but her arms were too full to wipe it.

With that, she continued her daring escape into the woods. She had to go far but no matter how far she went, it was never far enough.


	25. The Queen's Shameful Secret

The dungeon was dark and still, although the sound of a single drop of water echoed throughout. Corinthia didn't know how an underground storage area – a _people_ storage area nonetheless – could look so old when it had just been built. Through that darkness, she saw Benton and Jeevan, mostly because she had memories of their colors and she had trained her eyes to see them in dark places. As a sea creature, what bothered her about this prison cell wasn't that the place was too damp but that it wasn't damp enough. Corinthia didn't remember the last time she sat in a refreshing pool of water and that was what her body craved at the moment. All she could do was use her two-pronged tongue to suck the moisture out of the walls and cherish every drop she could find.

"What do you suppose she's going to do with us?" asked Benton. Benton wasn't necessarily frowning. Nobody saw him do that. But he wasn't exactly cheerful, either.

"Nothing positive, I'll tell you that," said Jeevan. The old man's brow – with tiny, tentacle-like feelers instead of hair – furrowed.

The dripping was driving Corinthia nuts. She was close to grabbing some dirt to shove into her ears but she wanted to remain civil at this time. She was always to remain civil. The elephant seal within her must never come out.

But her hearing picked up on something else: the sound of something heavy squishing across the floor. It approached the dungeon steps. Along with it were footsteps of something that weighed much less, a dainty creature. One by one, they came downstairs until they revealed themselves.

It was an abalone guard. And along with him was none other than Laertes.

"You guys have a visitor," said the big, shelled lug, "Don't make it too long." The abalone glided up the steps and left Laertes alone with the prisoners

When Corinthia took her tongue out of the wall and looked at her guest, she saw that Laertes had a look on his face that resembled that of a disappointed parent. She half-expected to see him at least be grateful that she was alive but one can only expect so much.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," said Laertes while shaking his head, "Corrie, Corrie, Corrie… I leave you alone for the evening and this is what I find you doing?"

Corinthia couldn't get out of this by saying "no." She couldn't even convince him with the classic "It's not what it looks like," for he was most likely told of this beforehand.

"Yes," said Corinthia.

"Why ever did you think this was a good idea? You've been using this time to stay away from the pearls and now here you are intentionally going near one."

Corinthia tried to swallow the water in her mouth but her muscles just couldn't do it. She felt an erratic wiggling under her skin as she combed for an answer. "Because…"

"Because maybe she's sick of being a well-mannered assistant, Laertes," said Benton, "She may have been faithful to the demands that you put on her but, by golly, she sure isn't faithful to the demands that the leaders of our fledgling empire put on her, one of those demands being the taboo of going near one of these fine goddesses without permission. So Laertes, let this young woman do her thing. I think she knows herself enough to know how much danger she can get into."

Corinthia's mouth was still open but she did not need to say anything. As much as she hated having people speak for her, Benton pretty much covered it all. If anything, he did her a favor.

Laertes sighed. "I know but I'm just worried about her."

"Laertes, I'm right here," reminded Corinthia.

Laertes turned his head and repeated an altered version of that sentence, although he really didn't mean to. "I know but I'm just worried about you."

"You needn't be worried about me, Laertes. I'm a grownup. I'll be fine."

Laertes looked pained for a moment; not the obvious outer pain that one could easily detect but a sort of emotional melting that occurred in someone from the inside-out. "Well you're not sure what kind of punishment you're going to get."

"I can handle punishments, Laertes." Corinthia did not bother going into any more detail about this.

"Prisoners!" shouted an abalone guard from the top of the steps, "Her Grace Queen Red Pearl would like to have a royal word with you!"

Laertes looked back at Corinthia. "For you sake – for all your sakes – I hope it's just a word and nothing more."

The prisoners were freed from their cell and led to the outside of the elegant room where Queen Red had been resting. Corinthia looked at everyone's facial expression: Benton, for the first time in living memory, had a look of deadpan seriousness. His fishy lips made no attempt to move their muscles into anything other than a slight frown. Jeevan did not look particularly frightened. In fact, he looked like he was just patiently waiting for this social interaction to begin, like someone waiting for a person to pick up the phone.

Come to think of it, Corinthia was like that as well. As far as she knew, the universe was on her side.

"Guards!" shouted the royal pearl, "Please escort them into my chamber."

The big, burly abalones led the four of them back into the room and all the way across to the queen's bed. She sat cross-legged with her hands placed squarely on her knees.

"Now… please close the curtains and leave so that the guests and I can have some privacy."

Guests. She didn't call them prisoners or malcontents or intruders but guests. And it was expected that people be as nice as possible to guests no matter who they may be. It was starting to become apparent that Corinthia and the others would not be punished after all.

The guards glided to each window and drew the wispy curtains before they closed the door behind them.

"Good evening," she said to the intruders, "I have gathered you here to-"

"Oh, mercy!" said Laertes, "Just get the punishment over with so I won't have to think about it!"

"I am not here to punish you. Especially not you, Trumpet-Mouth Leaf Man, since you did not commit any crime."

"Oh, yes. Sorry…"

"I have gathered you here to say some… things… to you." Queen Red closed her eyes and sighed. As prepared as Corinthia thought she was going to be for this, Queen Red was struggling to say what she felt the need to say. "I sentenced you to the dungeon like I would any intruder but what this old man said to me reverberated in my mind for the hours before this moment." She looked at Jeevan almost lovingly. "I sent you away not because I thought you were lying… but because I was lying to myself."

Corinthia was astonished: not because Red revealed anything new but because she was acting very un-tyrannical. Gold Pearl would not have appreciated this behavior from one of her puppets.

"Sir… what is your name, Sir?"

"Jeevan," said Jeevan, "My name is Jeevan."

"Well, Jeevan, the only thing you revealed to me was which exact pincta created my pearl. I have known all along that somehow, I was created from an inferior creature and not the strong, competent Achilles. The evidence to this is in what I have been hiding from the general population."

Little by little, The Queen was peeling herself apart and exposing her deep flaws to these mere mortal peasants. She clearly needed someone to pour her non-existent heart out to. Corinthia was starting to see this woman as what she always figured was the case: that she was a pearl who just was not perfect. And this was a relief to her.

"What the others don't know is that I am unfit to be a queen. If you want proof, then I will give you your proof." Queen Red readjusted her legs and got on all fours. She stepped onto her left foot, at which point, she very slowly stood up. As she did so, she wobbled a bit and tried to keep her balance. When she rose most of the way up, she felt the need to hold on to the post of her bed in order to complete this transition.

As soon as she stood up, she walked around the peasants, or she walked around them as best she could. As she did so, her left leg was the only one with strength for this simple task. The right leg couldn't muster much besides pressing itself to the floor. She moved with great difficulty. With each uneven step, she had a look of pain and desperation on her face. For a creature with legs, she was far too young to be walking like this.

As a creature with no legs, Corinthia thought of it as intriguing that there were races of people that could balance themselves on nothing but two protrusions coming out of their lower body. This pearl reaffirmed the challenging aspect of it.

"You don't have to show us any more, dear," said Jeevan, "Please rest those legs of yours."

Red hobbled back to her bed and sat back down.

"The problem here is that I felt it fit to give you answers," she said, "And because of this, I cannot let you leave."

The entire group flinched in horror.

"Why?" asked Corinthia, "You said you weren't going to punish us!"

"No, I wasn't, but you people are the only ones who know my horrible secret. If such a thing is revealed to the public, I will be shown as the fraud that I am and I will be sentenced to The Pulverizer."

Jeevan trembled. He closed his eyes real tight several times as if he were fighting back tears. Corinthia felt genuinely sorry for this low-wage worker.

"No!" he said. "I have only been working at that dreaded machine for one day and I already feel like I've seen enough suffering there. I've seen too many pearls from other parts of the galaxy turned to dust by that machine and every time, I'm forced to do my job sweeping up their remains with a smile. For every pearl sacrificed for having even the tiniest flaw in her design, I die a little inside. You're my creation, Your Grace, and I'm not going to let you suffer that fate."

Queen Red, looking weary from her physical and emotional states, smiled at the elderly pincta man who provided part of his body to make her gem. "Well I don't know how much longer I can hide this state from everybody. They're going to find out sooner or later."

At that moment, Benton stopped with his expression of seriousness and uncertainty and smiled.

"If you can't walk properly, then we can teach ya!" he said.

Everyone else looked at him as if he had grown a sentient talking pimple on his tail. This fish man was speaking to this high noblewoman like she was an old friend. Through his happiness, he showed no fear… a bit differently than how Corinthia showed no fear.

"You don't understand, Benton," said Queen Red, "I am a Pearl. We are immortal beings that cannot change. The way I am now will be how I am until the stars burn out." Queen Red, this ferocious warrior queen who was meant to further an empire, was defeated not by soldiers or rebellious peasants. It was her self-realizations that did her in.

"What?" asked Benton in an almost-joking tone, "What kind of attitude is that? You Pearls are these powerful creatures that can do anything that us mortals can't do and yet you can't change? I find that hard to believe." Benton put his hands on his hips and moved from side to side when he said this. "I mean… how long have you been alive? A day?"

"That shouldn't matter. I have been specially programmed with all the knowledge about my kind and-"

"Really? _All_ the knowledge? They can't program _everything_."

"Eh… Benton…" said Laertes in his usual nervous tone, "I think you're stumbling into dangerous territory by saying things like this."

"Why can't they program everything?" Alas, Queen Red was not in the mood to persecute anyone. Instead, she was overcome with a childlike curiosity.

Little by little, Corinthia was starting to shed her prejudices about these powerful, light-based pearl creatures. She even gained some sympathy for them when she found out the fates of some of those mindless drones that were cloned from the other queens.

"Well I can't tell you why they can't program everything but I've got a reason to believe that there are just some things that they don't want to encourage," said Benton. He lifted his scaly (not hairy) eyebrows twice when saying this.

"So you're saying that my subjects change all the time?" asked Red, "That they weren't created the way they are?"

"Of course not! I started out as an egg and hatched into a chubby, tiny-finned, big-eyed translucent baby girl who eventually grew and chemically changed her sex into the man that you see today."

"Well… I think I would like to change."

"Oh? You think you would like to change? Because it sounded an awful lot like you _did_ want to change."

"I mean… I do want to change!" Queen Red nearly stood up in triumph but could only manage to stand on her knees. She then lost that brief moment of can-do spirit and sulked again. "But I still don't know if it's possible."

"You're not gonna know if you don't try… unless Pearls aren't ones for trying things, either."

"Learning to walk isn't like learning how to fly, sweetheart," said Jeevan, "The worst that can happen is that you will remain the same as you are now…" It was now Jeevan's turn to sulk. "And probably get the death penalty…"

"Well I'm willing to try because as Queen, I want to be an example to my people and be able to fight for our empire!"

"But you can't tell anyone about your flaws… or overcoming them for that matter," said Laertes.

Maybe it was Corinthia, but Laertes was seeming more and more like he was everybody's worried father.

"If I cure my disability quickly, people will never know that I even had one."

"That's the spirit!" said Benton.

"That and… I want to know more about you guys."

"What do you mean?" asked Corinthia.

"I've been watching the locals and their habits. When you're not working, you talk to each other about non-political matters. You enjoy each other's company. And, my oh my, you're creative! You paint houses different colors, you make two-dimensional replicas of events both fictional and non-fictional and you're even creative when it comes to food, something that you're required to put into your blood-and-organ-filled bodies to stay alive. I wish I were all a part of that instead of spending my days surrounded by four walls."

"But Your Grace," said Jeevan, "Are you sure you want us to do more for you besides rehabilitate you? You may be bored now but you shouldn't get too used to the peasant population since you are expected to do much more as queen once your pearl clones come alive."

Queen Red jumped from the total shock of this reminder. Her pupils dilated and, if her skin weren't already porcelain-white, her face surely would have turned that color. "Oh no! No matter how much I heal, my soldiers will expose me for the fraud I am!" She remembered to keep her voice low while she was surprised, although there was still a bit of an echo.

Benton looked at Corinthia.

"Corrie," he said, "You haven't contributed much to this conversation. Do you propose any solutions to this problem?" It was as if Benton were trying to make up for speaking for Corinthia earlier. As good as this was, Corinthia didn't have any advice… or, rather, any _helpful_ advice.

"I say that we should wait," she said, "Considering how strong we all are in our respective fields, we will figure something out when our greatest challenges arrive." Corinthia put her arms down and stood there with one claw over the other like a good girl. But in her brain, she _wanted_ to wait for that fateful moment. Beneath the smile of this assistant was the spirit of an orca whale wanting to bring violent justice to whoever wanted to take advantage of her.

"I say that's good advice for now," said Laertes, "And on that note, I will leave you people to your conversation while Corinthia and I have our own discussion."

A nervous chill went through Corinthia. Did she say something wrong?

She followed him to a far-off corner of the room. Once she was in that corner, she could still hear the conversation from Benton, Jeevan and Queen Red but she and Laertes would do all they could to hush _their_ conversation.

When Laertes put his hand on Corinthia's shoulder, he smiled, at least as much as a creature with a trumpet-shaped mouth could smile.

"Corinthia, this is an excellent opportunity!" he said.

"An opportunity for what?" asked Corinthia.

"An interest story! I've been looking for a good story to report on besides The Queen's creation and I've had a difficult time coming across one on this humble planet. The Queen's interactions with some of her subjects could provide that very story!"

"But Laertes, we can't let the people in on her secret or our attempts at correcting it."

"True, but we are also introducing the culture of her subjects to her and a story about a queen trying to understand and sympathize with the average folk is one that readers of net sites are bound to gobble up. So what do you think?"

Corinthia never thought that Laertes would ever ask her permission before publishing a story. After all, she was just the one who would bring him coffee. But during these past few months, she had proven herself to be a strong, important contributor to both her own story and the stories of those around her. She had outed herself as a dissenter to everyone including the elite and the choices she would make from now on could have far-reaching consequences both good and bad. Surely, an important person like her would be a valuable voice in this decision.

"I think you should do it since it would be good for your career. But make sure you don't reveal too much."

Laertes chuckled. "Listen to yourself, Corinthia. You don't even have children and you're already starting to sound like me."


	26. Getting High by the Bonfire

Steven, Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst sat there in silence, taking in all that Peridot had told them about the past few years.

"Oh, you poor thing!" said Pearl, "You've been through so much."

"Well, that may be true but I wouldn't be the gem I am today without having experienced it," said Peridot. She moved some of her drooping hair away from her eyes. "What I want right now is to come back to you guys. I'm sick of these woods. I missed you guys. I miss having Lapis as a roommate. I even missed Pearl's incessant nagging."

Pearl groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Well you don't have to stay out in these woods any longer," said Steven, "We'd love to have you back! Right guys?"

"Right," said Pearl, "Just… leave these fungal specimens here. I can't bear to look at them." Pearl cringed as she took one last look at the mushrooms around her.

"You know, they can hear you," said Peridot.

Pearl then looked at Peridot with one eye squinted. "I'll take your word for it."

"Let's help Peridot pack up her things so she can come back with us," said Garnet.

Steven followed the other gems toward the makeshift steel shack when he stopped and realized something: He thought he heard everything that Peridot had to say in her story but then realized that there were details that she had left out.

"Hey Peridot," said Steven.

"Yeah?" asked Peridot. She stopped walking as well and looked behind her.

"What is 'Project Rib Cage' anyway? You told us about hiding it from the government but you didn't say anything else about it."

Peridot's eyes widened. She looked like she was trapped. But then she settled down and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"There are some things that you're better off not knowing," she said, "And Cilantro has my word when I tell him that the details and location of his experiment will not be disclosed to anyone."

"But Peridot, I already know the location of the experiment. It's right there." Steven pointed to the shack where lights were flashing a little while ago.

"Then you already know too much." Peridot spoke in an aggravated whisper. "You know this much, I can't tell you anything else."

Steven was taken aback by Peridot's paranoia. It used to be that when she acted scared of something or defensive in any way, she was mostly dismissed as being naïve. Now, she knew much more about the world and therefore knew just what she was talking about. But no matter: Steven did his best to make people happy and if not bringing up Project Rib Cage made Peridot happy, then so be it.

The gems eventually found their way back to the portal, making what would have been a several-hour trip by car into a three-second-long trip through a vortex. Peridot spent some time around Beach City, becoming reacquainted with the sights, sounds and people. Some of those sights and sounds stayed the same but the people had undergone their own changes, including some new restaurants popping up and people moving in and out. The people who _had_ stayed in Beach City were happy to see the green slice of pie again.

Later that night, Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Lapis sat around a bonfire that was in the field near the barn. The sky, which was formally orangey-pink, had dulled and darkened like the cinders of burned wood. Meanwhile, the actual burning wood in front of Steven's face was growing stronger and brighter to replace the wayward sun.

The gems were silent. Garnet sat on her log with her back straight and her hands resting on her knees, not looking at anything in particular. Amethyst tapped her foot and stared at the sky. Pearl chewed on the side of her mouth. And then there was Lapis, who looked much more sullen than usual. The flame illuminated her dreary look to the point when Steven just had to comment on it.

"Hey Lapis, what's wrong?" asked Steven, "Peridot said that there's going to be a surprise. Aren't you excited about that?"

"Are you talking about the surprise of Peridot being different than she used to be? Because that's not really a surprise anymore."

"Well she hasn't changed that much. I mean, she still called us Clods."

"Yeah but she seems so focused on that experiment. She barely said hello to me when I saw her."

"Well you've only been with her for one day. Give her some time and then ask her if she wants to do something. In the meantime, I'm excited for her actual surprise, right guys?"

The gems looked at Steven and smiled.

"We sure are, Steven," said Garnet as she gave a thumbs up. Oh, that Garnet. She always affirmed the good vibes that went on, even if she was one of the only ones who had them.

Soon, Peridot came over to the bonfire. She had washed off a bit and combed her hair. Since she began partaking in the habit of wearing "image-enhancers," she decided to wear some different ones that she had gotten at the thrift store. She wore a flowery top and some dungarees, both of which were child-sized. She came up to the gems carrying a small burlap sack that was puckered at the top.

"Hello, everyone!" she said in a sing-song tone.

"Hello, Peridot!" said Steven.

"Your patience has paid off because the surprise I have for you is…" She then opened the sack and took out some dried, crumbled material. "This!" When she presented it in front of the flame, the pile of crumbled material looked like large clumps of magenta-colored dirt.

"Whoa…" said Steven, "You got us clumps!" He then looked at these clumps a little longer, seeing if there was anything special about them besides their color. There didn't seem to be. "What are they clumps of?"

"This is a dried version of a magic mushroom known as the Alterum or the "Split Self" Mushroom. It's a certified Ciltantro original that he created himself using a mix of breeding techniques and wild concoctions that he brewed up in his laboratory."

"Split self, huh?" said Lapis, "What does it do, exactly?"

"Well, instead of making people one with the universe and with all living beings like other magic mushrooms do, this one lets you see yourself in different parts. You could see the younger versions of you or the repressed side of you that you've been stuffing into the back of your brain for as long as you can remember… or, if you're a human, you could even talk to your great-grandparents. I mean… they are a part of you technically."

"So you're going to have us tripping out?"

"Count me in!" said Amethyst, the self-proclaimed Queen of Hedonism.

"I'm only going to give them to Garnet, Amethyst and Lapis right now. Steven is underage and Pearl is pregnant."

"Aw…" said Steven, "I guess I'll have to wait before I reach enlightenment."

"That's all right," said Pearl, "I've dabbled in drugs before and they're not my thing."

"Oh?" said Steven, "Is there a story you'd like to tell, Pearl?" Steven bored his baby doll eyes, which only the coldest personality could resist.

"Oh, all right. Six hundred years ago, I went to Europe and talked to a monk who was interested in learning about what the continent across the ocean was like. Since there was so much to explain to him, I decided to write a book containing all the information. However, I just wasn't feeling motivated or creative, so I ingested some ground-up Datura root to see if it would get the juices going. A few days later, I woke up with in a cold sweat with colored ink all over my hands and a finished manuscript containing inexplicable pictures and writing in an incomprehensible language that I had apparently made up. Since I didn't want to start over, I left the book on steps of that church as a gift without making it obvious that I was the one who wrote it. Today, I read about how historians are still wracking their brains over the so-called Voynich Manuscript. Half of me wants to tell them the truth but the other half likes laughing at their ill-fated attempts."

The gems looked at Pearl, seeing a rebel hatching out of a good-two-shoes egg. It was always refreshing when she expressed this side of herself.

"Cool story, Sis," commented Peridot. "Now, with that said, while you guys are under the influence of this fungus, not only are you going to see weird things but you're going to do weird things as well. I will be here to make sure you don't do anything like punch a squirrel or chew your arm off."

Steven was becoming a little concerned now. He wasn't sure whether he should stick around to watch the gems undergo this delirious state, even if it was psychologically benefitting them. But since he wasn't one to ask many questions, he figured that he mind as well sit by and watch the show.

"You eat it like you would food." Peridot offered the mushrooms to Lapis, who didn't seem any more excited about the situation than she was before. "Would you like the first hit, dear Lapis?"

"I think I'll pass," said Lapis, "I'm already familiar with my dark side. Instead of trying to reason with it, I embrace it. It's like it won't let me ask questions… not that I mind."

Peridot was a bit terrified at this reminder but then went back to her chipper attitude.

"OK, so Amethyst, here is your dosage," she said. She took one of the clumps and presented it to Amethyst between her fingers.

"That's all?" asked Amethyst, "With a dosage that small, it might get stuck in my teeth!"

"This isn't popcorn, Amy. These are very potent mushrooms and only a little bit is needed to get high."

Amethyst took the tiny bit and popped it into her mouth. After swallowing it, she waited five seconds and waved her hand in front of her face. Her vision followed the hand perfectly. "What gives? I don't feel high at all."

"It takes about an hour for the effects to kick in. Keep in mind that this mushroom has never been given to a gem before."

"We need to have patience, Amethyst," said Garnet. The Sapphire side of her was clearly showing in that comment.

It was rather strange seeing Garnet actively eat something like any human would. Steven didn't remember the last time she did anything remotely similar with her mouth.

"Well what can we do in the meantime?" asked Amethyst.

"Ooh, ooh!" said Steven, "I brought 'Ein!'" He held up a box containing the word "Ein" decorated with a picture of some colored cards held in a fan. Each card had a number in its center.

"Ein?" said Pearl.

"Yeah, you know, that card game with the numbers and colors. In fact, that's what it says on the box!" Steven pointed to the words at the bottom of the box and, indeed, it proudly proclaimed, "That card game with the numbers and colors!"

"I love that game!" said Lapis, "And I normally don't love very many things."

"Lapis, do you ever say anything that doesn't make us pity you?" asked Pearl.

"You haven't changed at all, Lapis," said Peridot with a smile.

Sometime later, Steven and the gems were gathered in a circle next to the fire and had played well over a dozen rounds of Ein. Once Steven was left with just one card in his hand, he was more than happy to shout the magic word.

"Ein!" he said, "That's my third Ein in a row!"

"Remind me to take you with me on my next trip to Vegas!" said Amethyst.

"Whose turn is it to start the next round?" asked Lapis. "I think it's your turn Amethyst… Amethyst?"

During those few seconds, Amethyst had undergone a change in her mental state. She stared off into the distance, exhibiting a lack of awareness of the actions around her. Her eyes dilated to the point where her pupils filled up her whites and had little room to move. A droplet of drool rolled down her chin before she collapsed onto her back.

Steven instantly felt concern. The only time a gem would act this strange was if her gem had been damaged and the gem on Amethyst's chest was in no need of repair. Much like the corrupted gems that had walked the planet, it was her mind that had been altered and Steven had the feeling that he would need more than just his healing spit to fix Amethyst's current state.

"Amethyst!" he said, "Speak to me!"

"She's all right, Steven!" said Peridot, "She's just zoned out, that's all."

Steven looked at Amethyst some more. In her daze, twitchy state, she resembled a computer that was short-circuiting. Amethyst was there but at the same time, _wasn't_ there.

He turned to Garnet, who was still sitting cross-legged. Her right hand rested on her knee along with her fan of colored cards. Little by little, those cards slipped from her fingers.

"Are _you_ all right, Garnet?" asked Steven.

There was no answer.

"Garnet?" He walked up to Garnet and took off her glasses, one of the few situations where he felt that it was appropriate. Her eyes were dilated as well. By ignoring Steven and everyone else she cared about, she was acting similar to the way she acted when she was in that trance caused by that meat-based drumming game. This time, however, her pupils were unmoving and she was swayed by internal forces. Her bottom left eye twitched a bit, signifying that there was still some life in this gem. Although she was sitting still, she did not look to be at peace. Her brain (or, rather, the gem equivalent of one) had been hijacked by chemicals. Heaven knows what these mushrooms were doing to these gems' light-based forms.

"We should probably leave for a while, Steven," said Pearl. She pushed Steven away from Garnet but Steven had already lost a bit more of his innocence. After all he had been through in the past few years, he wondered how much he had left.

"But I wanna see what happens," said Steven.

"They'll be fine, just like I was when I took that Datura root."

Steven walked away from Amethyst and Garnet. He could imagine the swirling madness going on in their heads and how lost they were at this time. But if a parental figure like Pearl said that they were going to be okay with actual experience to back her up, then he took her word for it.

Yes, there was madness going on within Amethyst and Garnet but it would eventually die down to reveal order. Not exactly an order that was deemed normal by the outside world, but order nonetheless.


End file.
